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Medallion Sports Properties Hires Sean Downes

January 27, 2015 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
New York Lizards News Release


NEW YORK, NY "" January 27, 2015  ""  Medallion Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: TAXI), a specialty finance company with a leading position servicing the taxicab industry and other niche markets,  today announced the hiring of veteran sports marketer Sean Downes, to be the Chief Executive Officer of its new division Medallion Sports Properties.  In his new capacity, Mr. Downes will be responsible for coordinating and implementing programs to sell sponsorships for Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM), a NASCAR team, and for the New York Lizards, a Major League Lacrosse team, both majority owned and operated by Medallion Financial Corp., a publicly traded investment company that has made over $5 billion of investments since its initial public offering. Mr. Downes will report directly to Andrew Murstein, President of Medallion Financial.

Mr. Downes previously served as head of business development at NASCAR since 2011.  Prior to NASCAR, he was Vice President of Corporate Hospitality Sales at Madison Square Garden for two years, where he was personally responsible for over $200 million in sales.  Mr. Downes served as director of partnership marketing at NASCAR from 2005 to 2009.  Prior to 2005, he held sales and marketing leadership roles with Octagon, the Philadelphia Eagles and New Jersey Nets.

Mr. Murstein commented, "We are extremely pleased to be able to bring in someone of Sean's extraordinary talents and integrity. He is a rising star in the sports and entertainment industry and his talents and passion are perfectly matched with ours. Sports properties have seen dramatic increases in value over the last several years, and bringing Sean in will certainly be a great addition to our properties as well."

A former New Jersey all-state lacrosse star at Delbarton School who played football at Villanova University and today competes in triathlons, Mr. Downes was instrumental in the 2013 securing of a major 10 year sponsorship with Comcast's XFINITY brand, creating the NASCAR XFINITY Series, the longest single entitlement deal in NASCAR national series history.  During his tenure at NASCAR, Mr. Downes oversaw all new business acquisition efforts which included official partnerships with blue-chip corporations like HP, Janssen Pharmaceuticals (a Johnson & Johnson company), Lockheed Martin and Sherwin-Williams. 

"I look forward to working with Andrew Murstein, who like me is passionate about NASCAR and lacrosse," said Mr. Downes.  "It is a thrill to be supporting RPM, an iconic global brand founded by the greatest auto racer of all time, and the New York Lizards, who with the acquisition of midfielder Paul Rabil, are now championship contenders with a premier opportunity to grow the fan base and increase corporate sponsorship spending in one of America's fastest growing sports."

Mr. Downes resides in Morristown, N.J. with his wife and three lacrosse-playing children.  He is also the proud fourth grade lacrosse coach for the Morristown Junior Colonials.

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