M Patrick Carroll Joins Joe Tacopina in Investment in Italy's SPAL

TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Real estate developer and founder of CARROLL, M Patrick Carroll, recently announced that he is joining Joe Tacopina as an investor in Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly known as SPAL, a historic football team from Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The team currently plays in the second tier of the Italian football league system, Serie B.

This is Carroll's first significant investment in an international football team, and he is relying on the experience and expertise of Tacopina to complete the transaction and work with the team. M Patrick Carroll's previous investments have been primarily in the real estate industry. In 2004, he founded CARROLL, a company that has acquired more than $7.8 billion of real estate; has successfully exited more than $4.3 billion; and has developed and managed the construction of more than $200 million on behalf of institutional partners, private investors, and principals.

Tacopina is an American lawyer, who in 2011, commenced his career in sports management by joining the Board of Directors of Associazione Sportiva Roma, or A.S. Roma. A.S. Roma is an Italian professional football club that was founded in 1927 and is based in Rome. Tacopina also served as Vice President of the club. During Joe Tacopina's time with the A.S. Roma, the team participated in the top tier of Italian football. He left the team in 2014 to assume the position of President for the Bologna Football Club, which he held for a year. In 2015, he purchased Italian club Venezia F.C.; he sold his shares and resigned in January 2020. Tacopina became the first President in Italian football history to win three promotions simultaneously (Bologna, 2014-2015; Venezia, 2015-16 and 2016-2017).

The participating investors in the acquisition of SPAL, including M Patrick Carroll, have granted Tacopina operational powers as President of the acquisition. Georgio Zamuner will continue as Sporting Director, and Andrea Gazzoli will stay on as General Manager.

From 2016 to 2019, Zamuner was CEO of Padova, an Italian football club based in Padua, Veneto, that played in Serie C Group A. Prior to that, from 2015 to 2016, he was the technical coach for Pordenone, a professional football club based in Pordenone, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that played in Serie B.

Gazzoli is a former football player who retired from his position as a defender in 2005. He previously played for Unione Sportiva Castelnuovo Garfagnana (or US Castelnuovo), an Italian association football club based in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, Tuscany, and Società Sportiva Dilettantistica Viareggio (or Viareggio), an Italian football club located in Viareggio, Tuscany.

Before this recent acquisition, Tacopina was negotiating to acquire Catania, an Italian football club founded in 1929 and based in Catania, Sicily. However, investors failed to sign an agreement in June 2021 due to disagreements with the club owners. By acquiring SPAL instead of Catania, Tacopina and Carroll have now been granted the opportunity to acquire a Serie B team instead of a Serie C team.

SPAL's success has varied throughout its history. In 1946, Paolo Mazza became chairman of the club, leading players through five seasons in Serie B. Following the 1950-51 championship, the club was promoted to Serie A and remained there for nearly two decades, competing in 16 of 17 Serie A seasons from 1951 to 1968. The club has participated in 24 top-tier, 26 second-tier, 41 third-tier, 7 fourth-tier, and 1 fifth-tier league seasons. Players have celebrated the following successes: Serie B Winner, 1951 and 2017; Serie C / Serie C1 / Lega Pro Winner, 1938, 1973, 1978, 1992, and 2016; Serie C / Serie C1 / Lega Pro Runners-Up, 1942, 1943, 1970, 1971, and 1996; Serie C2 Winner, 1998; Serie C2 Runners-Up, 1991; Runners-Up, 1962 Coppa Italia, and 1989 Coppa Italia Serie C; Winner, 1999 Coppa Italia Serie C, 2016 Supercoppa di Serie C, 1968 Cup of Italian-Swiss friendship, and 1965 Campionato Primavera B.

Upon execution of the purchase contract, Tacopina and Carroll intend to begin building SPAL; they are committed to investing $10 million in the initial phases of the project. Despite the team's Serie B status, investors intend to lead it to another Serie A promotion.

About SPAL

SPAL is a professional football club based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. SPAL was founded in 1907 as Circolo Ars et Labor by Salesian priest Pietro Acerbis. In 1913, it became a multi-sports company, taking the name of Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor (SPAL). SPAL began playing in a professional capacity in 1919 under the sponsorship of the Italian Football Federation. SPAL's team colors are light blue and white, deriving from the Salesians emblem. They play at Stadio Paulo Mazza.

Currently, the team plays in Serie B, the second tier of the Italian football league system. Its official sponsors include Omega Group, Adamant BioNRG, Errebi Technology, and Pentaferte (2020-21). Its kit sponsor is Macron (2020-21). Previous official sponsors have included Krifi Caffè, OrOil, VB Impianti, Tassi Group, BMW ErreEffe Group, InterSpar, Vetroresina, Magnadyne, 958 Santero, Veneto Banca, Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara, Trasea, Lega del Filo d'Oro, Tomasi Case, Ravani Acciai and Sauber. Previous kit sponsors have included Adidas, Marix, Fitness, WBS, Asics, Zeus, Legea, Asics, Givova, Legea, Erreà, and HS Football.

About M Patrick Carroll

M Patrick Carroll is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder and CEO of CARROLL, a prominent real estate investment firm that manages more than $5 billion in assets. The company owns more than 30,000 residential and commercial properties across the East Coast. CARROLL was founded in 2004 and maintains an investment strategy that uses in-house capabilities to unlock value in properties it perceives to be underperforming and undervalued. Under M Patrick Carroll's leadership, the company aims to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through proactive management, redevelopment, and specific submarket selection. Since 2011, it has invested $2.6 billion in equity across 21 U.S. markets and has executed $12.2 billion in transactions (170 acquisitions and 90 dispositions).

About Joe Tacopina

Joe Tacopina is a senior partner and lead trial attorney at Tacopina Seigel & Desoreo, a law firm based in Manhattan, New York, as well as a sports manager. He received his law degree from the University of Bridgeport (now Quinnipiac School of Law) and has since been recognized as one of the country's most respected high-stakes trial attorneys. Tacopina regularly appears on major media outlets, including CNN, FOX, and Newsmax; he also participates weekly on WABC Radio's Bernie & Sid Morning Show in New York. He is a faculty member of Harvard Law School's Trial Advocacy Workshop and a member of the Federal Bar Council, the New York Council of Defense Lawyers, and the Judicial Committee for the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He also serves on the Legislative Committee for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.   

Contact: Interdependence Public Relations
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