Professional Athletes and Franchise Companies can be great teammates!

Scottsdale, AZ -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/13/2009 -- Despite the current economy, there is one economic group voicing their desire and opening up their wallets to invest in franchising – Professional Athletes. Scottsdale, Arizona based Upside Group Franchise Consulting and Franchise Athletes LLC are teaming up once again to organize an invitation only franchise show for Professional Athletes January 15 - 17 at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Both companies partnered in June 2008 for the first ever, very successful Professional Athlete Franchise Event.

The purpose of the Show is to connect franchisors with current and retired professional athletes who want to invest in top franchise opportunities. Due to the success of the first event, the organizers had to cap the attendance at 100 athletes. A select group of leading franchisors will be handpicked to present franchise opportunities to this group of professional athletes interested in becoming franchisees. Investment companies who deal with high net worth clients have also been added.

Mario Altiery, President of Upside Group, said, “Offering another Professional Athlete Show was a certainty after the success of the first event. The last one was exceptional; the players loved it because of the educational component. They really learned how to approach the process of investigating a business in a low pressure environment.”

“The franchisors loved it because they were able to speak with educated players many of whom are going on to become franchisees. Those who participated in the first event provided suggestions for improvement and we have modified the event in January accordingly to ensure this show is even better than the first one. Everyone involved is very excited.”

The show in 2008 featured mostly Professional Football Players. This time around, January offers more Professional Baseball Players the opportunity to speak with the franchisors.

Altiery said, “The catalyst for this show was the baseball players were disappointed they could not attend the last event in June, due to the timing of their season, and seem more determined than ever to investigate franchise opportunities.”

“It is exciting for the franchise industry that such a prestigious group of pro athletes is interested and are seriously looking to invest as franchise owners because it can be a healthy financial investment and a stable place to invest for years of equity growth,” Altiery says. “The biggest surprise from the last event was the feedback from the franchisors, I guess they expected a bunch of ‘dumb jocks’, they were taken back at how prepared and educated the players were! Many of the players already own franchises and were looking to diversify so we expect much of the same this time around”