Dragon Seats, the manufacturer of heated and cooling sports benches, acquired Athletic Recovery Zone, LLC (ARZ), the air conditioning and heating sports bench technology manufacturer.
The acquisition provides solutions and services to the NFL via its Member Clubs, NCAA Football sidelines, various other sports, lifestyle applications, and multiple marketing partners.
ARZ, based in Orange Park, FL, and Dragon Seats, based in Cleveland, OH, have 50 years of combined experience designing and manufacturing heated and cooling temperature-controlled sports benches.
Brian Cothren, co-founder and co-CEO of ARZ joins Dragon Seats as executive vice president with ARZ staff.
“I cannot say enough about Brian Cothren and the ARZ team for their work in developing an exceptional air-conditioned sports bench and the trusted sideline and game day service they provide to their customers,” said Frank Floyd, founder and CEO of Dragon Seats.
“We are thrilled to join Dragon Seats and see it as a natural fit when you look at how the two businesses complement each other to meet the needs of our market,” said Cothren. “The Dragon Seats team has excelled not only in building out its climate-controlled bench technology and roster of clients but also, more recently, by tapping into the ever-evolving sports marketing space. This group identified the value in the tv-visible space our benches create for sponsorship in college football, and it feels like they have just scratched the surface on that front with the likes of Learfield, Stanley Black & Decker, DeWalt, and other brands. There’s no limit to what we can accomplish together.”
Dragon Seats and ARZ were present during the college football playoffs and Bowl Game schedule and support most NFL Member Clubs during the NFL Playoffs.
ARZ’s roster of clients includes NFL Member Clubs, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, SEC’s Alabama, Georgia, and Auburn, and PGA Tour events. Over time, Dragon Seats and ARZ said they would work to bring their technologies under one uniform bench design.
Beyond supporting athletes, Dragon Seats offers customized team and corporate partner branding.
The pending transaction was unanimously approved by the Board of Directors and Shareholders of each company and is expected to close this month, subject to customary closing conditions. The terms of the deal are confidential.
Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP served as legal adviser to Dragon Seats. Glazier, Glazier & Dietrich, P.A. served as legal adviser to ARZ. Heritage Capital Group, Inc. served as financial advisor to ARZ.
