Sports are opening the door to private equity, and Ares Management is walking in.

The Los Angeles-based investment firm with $227 billion in assets under management has invested more than $1 billion into sports teams, leagues, and media in the last six months. That sum doesn’t include Ares’ co-founder and chairman Tony Ressler’s principal ownership of the Atlanta Hawks.

This week, Atletico Madrid raised $216.9 million from Ares, which now holds a 34% stake in the LaLiga champions. That money will go in part to developing the area around the club’s stadium – a recent trend among major sports teams.

Ares was part of a consortium led by MSP Sports Capital that acquired a 15% stake in McLaren Racing as part of a $255.4 million investment. The financiers valued McLaren at $773.1 million. The stake could rise to 33% by the end of 2022.

Ares has lent an undisclosed amount to:

• The San Diego Padres
• The Ottawa Senators
• Rugby Australia
• The Professional Fighters League

The firm also provided a $100 million credit line to help Rawlings fund its acquisition of Easton Diamond Sports and acquired a minority stake in Meadowlark Media.

The Phoenix Mercury haven’t won a ring since 2014, but the team is still putting up numbers — and we’re not talking about Diana Taurasi reaching 9,000 career points earlier this week. 

Bally’s Corporation announced a 15-year deal worth a reported $66 million with the Mercury on Wednesday, making history in women’s sports just months after going into business with the NBA.

• It’s the first-ever sports betting deal with a professional women’s sports team.
• It is the largest sponsorship in women’s sports history, according to the team.
• The deal makes Arizona the 15th state Bally’s has entered for sports betting.

“This is a good business decision that also happens to be trailblazing and more inclusive,” Soo Kim, chairman of Bally’s Corporation’s Board of Directors, told Deadline.

As for revenue opportunities, the sports betting market reached $1 billion in revenue last year. Should sports betting become legal in all 50 states, Forbes expects revenues to exceed $19 billion per year.

The Mercury will have to obtain a mobile sports betting license before the deal is official, but language referenced in Arizona’s sports betting legislation doesn’t present any obstacles.

FightCamp, an interactive at-home boxing machine and workout class company, raised $90 million in a funding round led by VC firms New Enterprise Associates and Connect Ventures. 

The round also included boxing icons Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather, MMA legend Georges St-Pierre, and reigning UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. 

Launched in 2014 by engineer Khalil Zahar, FightCamp has raised $98 million in total capital. Its machine uses advanced motion tracking to tally the number of punches and the output of each punch thrown.

The company uses a model comparable to other connected fitness systems, as it offers a pricey product – the punching bag costs $1,349 – and a $39 monthly subscription to access more than 1,000 classes and drills. 

It’s been a busy first half of the year for the at-home fitness market. 

• Ergatta, a connected rowing company that gamifies workouts, raised $30 million at a $200 million valuation in April.
• CLMBR, a connected climbing machine company, raised $13.5 million in May, with contributions from tennis star Novak Djokovic and business mogul Jay-Z.
• Earlier this month, Liteboxer, another connected boxing system, raised $20 million in a Series A funding round that included Grammy-winning music artist Timbaland.

FightCamp itself has seen sales increase by 30 times over the last two years.