Why the Best Sports Experience in America Might Be in a Colorado Ski Town

Episode notes

What started as a late-night FaceTime from a friend at a chaotic hockey game in Breckenridge, Colorado turned into one of the most unexpected sports business stories you'll hear. Rick Batenburg - venture capitalist, cannabis entrepreneur, and self-described "Jackie Moon of Breckenridge" - built the Breckenridge Vipers from scratch eleven years ago with 35 people in the stands, purely because he wasn't ready to stop playing real hockey. In this conversation, Rick breaks down the counterintuitive economics of owning a sports team, why the only way this works is if you stop trying to make money at it, and how a semi-pro hockey league in ski towns is quietly doing something the NHL never could. ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:48 - The FaceTime that started it all 02:21 - What is the Mountain Hockey League?

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