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Zachary D. Welsh

Associate
Zak represents clients in a wide variety of sports, entertainment, real estate, and commercial transactions in Arent Fox’s San Francisco office.
Zachary Welsh, Associate, San Francisco

Sports

Zak has represented professional sports franchises, owners and operators of sports and entertainment facilities, and sponsors in connection with naming rights transactions, sponsorship agreements, and arena and event lease and license agreements.

Real Estate and Corporate

Zak has represented corporations, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and developers of commercial, residential, office, and mixed use projects in connection with:

  • Leasing and subleasing (retail, commercial, office)
  • Acquisitions and dispositions
  • Construction agreements
  • Real estate financing and loan modifications/restructurings
  • Licenses and easements
  • Title, zoning, and land use matters
  • Affordable housing, zoning, and rent control compliance issues
  • Natural resource and species permitting
  • Entity formation and restructuring
  • General corporate matters

Client Work

Zak’s experience includes:

  • Representation of LA Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park in a naming rights and sponsorship transaction with SoFi, which makes the digital personal finance company the exclusive naming rights partner of the new SoFi Stadium, the future home of the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams, and the official partner of each of the teams, as well as a partner of the performance venue and surrounding entertainment district.
  • Representation of LA Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park in connection with certain aspects of the development of SoFi Stadium, including numerous founding partner agreements, sponsorships, and suite leasing.
  • Representation of the Miami Heat in advertising and sponsorship agreements related to the team and the American Airlines Arena, where the Heat play their home games.
  • Representation of the Los Altos School District in the acquisition of a new 11.65 acre school site in Mountain View, California in a transaction valued at over $155M.
  • Representation of The Buccini/Pollin Group, Inc. in the debt/equity financings of the historic DuPont Building and Hotel du Pont, a 950,000 sq. ft. mixed-use complex.
  • Representation of The Buccini/Pollin Group., Inc. in the debt/equity financing of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Wilmington in Wilmington, Delaware.
  • Representation of The Buccini/Pollin Group, Inc. in the debt/equity financing of the Hilton Melbourne Rialto Place in Melbourne, Florida.
  • Representation of The Buccini/Pollin Group, Inc. in the debt/equity financing of the Virgin Hotels Nashville in Nashville, Tennessee.
  • Representation of real estate developer in connection Facebook’s lease of a 432,000-square foot, 55-story high-rise building in downtown San Francisco, CA, named by the San Francisco Business Times as one of 2017’s “Real Estate Deals of the Year”.
  • Management of leasing and subleasing matters for a multinational technology company’s North American real estate portfolio.
  • Representation of data storage company in connection with the subdivision and sale of a 400,000-square foot office campus in Sunnyvale, CA to Google.

Previous Work

Prior to joining Arent Fox, Zak was an associate at large international law firm in San Francisco.

In law school, Zak served as Executive Editor of the California Law Review and as Managing Editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Berkeley Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law Journal.

He has also worked as a legislative aide for Senator Dianne Feinstein in her Washington, DC office and as an extern for the Honorable Judge Jon S. Tigar of the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Before law school, Zak worked for six seasons for the San Francisco Giants as a Clubhouse Assistant.

Publications, Presentations & Recognitions

  • "Sports venues incorporate communal engagement areas," Daily Journal, April 8, 2019.
  • “Stage Is Set For Huge Stadium Naming Rights Deal In California,” Law360, February 5, 2016

Life Beyond the Law

Zak’s hobbies include playing softball, snowboarding, woodworking, reading, and attending sporting events and concerts.