The District at Salisbury

$344M Mixed-Use Sports + Hospitality Campus · Salisbury, Massachusetts

Sponsor Summary v1
First-Meeting Reference
Confidential · 2026
A founder-built integrated campus — not a private-equity rollup. Designed as a generational community asset with institutional-grade economics and a structurally entrenched community-aligned mission framework.
Total Cost$344M (Stage 1 sponsor-side estimate)
Site99.5 acres · Route 1 / I-95 Exit 60
Phase 15 ice sheets · 3,200-seat arena · 400-room dual-flag Marriott (BRAND only · third-party HMA operator)
AnchorNAHL Tier II junior hockey franchise (Merrimack Monsters · 2029 launch)
Companion usesBeer hall · entertainment wing · NNN tenants · campus commons
StagePre-development · LP equity raise pending
Open targetQ4 2029 · 5-year build cycle
Phase 2/3Graf Rink luxury conference hotel · future markets · ROFR active

Sponsor — Benjamin J. Bransfield (BJB)

Hockey-coach founder · 2.5+ years pre-development · originator, developer, and operator of record. Project sponsorship runs through Hockey Insight Development LLC ("HID") — the Operating Partnership in formation. Sponsor compensation framework below reflects opening structure for LP-counsel review and final negotiation.

Sponsor Economics Framework

Item Structure Notes
Pre-Dev Sponsor Draw $15K/mo (floor) · $18K/mo (ask) 36-month base term · standalone (NOT credited against Master Developer Fee). Repaid from Master Dev Fee at LP close if outside ~24-month original term.
Mobilization Fee $75K · one-time at CoDev execution Pre-development project cost · funds initial entitlement + counsel + diligence work.
Master Developer Fee 4.0% of TDC = ~$13.76M Milestone-based draw schedule per lender-approved construction schedule · senior project cost · subject to final LP/lender approval. Compensates end-to-end origination · entitlement · capital structuring · construction oversight · brand/franchise relationship management for the integrated mixed-use sports + hospitality campus.
Full-Funding Retainer Credited against Master Developer Fee Construction-period draw · funds Sponsor time during construction · NOT additional to dev fee.
Future Phase Fee Market-based · separately negotiated per phase Phase 2 (Graf Rink luxury conference hotel) · Phase 3 (future markets · per Lead Investor ROFR). Fee structure calibrated to actual scope + market rate at each phase initiation.
Incentive Procurement Fee 5% above $22M base public-incentive underwriting · capped Success-based · paid only on realized public-stack value above the underwritten base case (Mass Save VRF · IRA · MA SMART · OZ 2.0 · TIF · MassDevelopment · MassWorks). Pure value-creation alignment with LP returns.
Asset Management Fee 1.0 – 1.5% of LP committed equity (annual) Below the PREA opportunistic CRE benchmark of ~1.5%. For-cause-only removal · termination fee structure protects both sides. Performance incentive on EBITDA outperformance.
Campus Operations Mgmt Fee Market-based on owner-operated revenue · ex-hotel · ex-NNN Base + NOI-contingent incentive. Hotel revenue managed by separate third-party HMA operator (selected via RFP at PreDev close) and excluded from this fee base.
Sponsorship Economics Sourced-account commission + above-budget upside share Tiered Y1/renewals/naming success commission on Sponsor-sourced new accounts only · zero on house accounts. Plus upside share on net sponsorship revenue exceeding LP-approved annual budget. Pure incremental alignment.
Pro Shop / Affiliate Agreements Market terms · independent appraisal · Audit Committee approval Related-party arms-length defense framework: independent appraisal at lease execution · tax counsel review · annual Audit Committee disclosure + attestation.
Sponsor Promote Per LP waterfall · subject to final docs Tiered structure above LP preferred return + LP MOIC threshold · contingent on LP achieving target returns · LP wealth event coincides with promote crystallization. Final mechanics in LP partnership agreement.
Hospitality & Relationship Budget Project-owned · annual budget · Audit Committee oversight Strategic infrastructure for institutional relationship building (LP cultivation · naming/anchor tenant relationships · government relations · Phase 2/3 pursuit). Personal-use portion §61-imputed at FMV.
Foundation / Community Commitments Separate mission framework · counsel-reviewed Contractual % of HID gross revenue to The District Community Foundation 501(c)(3) · staged ramp aligned with project stabilization · binding LP partnership commitments. See Mission Posture below.
Mission Posture · Anti-Extraction Structural Moat
The District is structurally built as the founder-built integrated campus alternative to the private-equity-rollup model that has hollowed out youth hockey across the Northeast. Greenfield single-asset development · purpose-built from the ground up on Route 1 Salisbury · displaces no existing community organizations · complements rather than replaces local nonprofit hockey programs · The District is being created, not consolidated. Anti-extraction posture is encoded structurally — not by marketing claims — via a separately-governed The District Community Foundation, 501(c)(3) (independent board · contractual % of HID gross revenue · counsel + tax CPA reviewed). Binding LP partnership commitments embed (a) no stay-to-play tournament penalties · (b) open tournament livestreaming · (c) local youth team priority access at community pricing · (d) Audit Committee oversight of community programming · (e) transparent public pricing · (f) local-hire commitments. Substantive entrenchment provisions cannot be unilaterally stripped by future ownership. Built different · papered different.