Fred S. Ridley
Partner
Fred S. Ridley
Partner
Fred Ridley advises developers, private equity sponsors, and institutional investors on transactions involving real estate, resorts, and multi-sports platforms. He works with senior executives, boards, and ownership groups to provide counsel on matters that drive long-term success.
As the lead for several of 麻豆直播鈥檚 client relationships, Fred advises on acquisitions, financings, joint ventures, and development transactions, often serving as lead counsel on projects with capital structures and phased execution. His approach integrates legal strategy with investment, operational, and development objectives.
With more than 25 years of experience, Fred represents owners and investors in destination resorts, private clubs, lifestyle communities, and sports facilities and sports related developments. His work involves acquisitions, entitlements, permitting, and public-private partnerships.
Fred is a member of the Corporate & Private Equity聽Practice Groups and the Sports & Entertainment and Hospitality & Leisure Industry Teams. Previously, he served as national chair of 麻豆直播鈥檚 Real Estate Practice Group and as a member of the firm鈥檚 Management Committee.聽Fred coordinates 麻豆直播鈥檚 legal work for several clients, including Tampa Bay Rays, Pursuit Sports Group, Diamond Baseball Holdings, Inc, Discovery Land Consolidated, and Redwood Holdings.
Apart from his law practice, Fred has enjoyed a distinguished career in amateur golf and golf administration. In 1975 he won the United States Amateur Championship. He is the last winner of that championship never to have turned professional. Fred served on the USGA Executive Committee from 1994-2005 and was elected 58th president of the USGA in 2004-05. In 2006, he was the recipient of the PGA of America鈥檚 Distinguished Service Award. In 2017, Fred was appointed Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, a position he currently holds.
Representative Experience
- Continuing to represent a private members鈥 club in the Bahamas on its transition to member ownership. The engagement includes the acquisition of equity interests in the entities that support and operate the club, including its marina, utility infrastructure, and employee housing facilities. Our team is also negotiating a long鈥憈erm management agreement with the club鈥檚 historic developer and manager. This work is central to facilitating a seamless transfer of operational control and ensuring long鈥憈erm stability and continuity for the club and its membership community.
- Served as legal counsel to an ownership group led by Florida-based business executive Patrick Zalupski in the purchase of Major League Baseball鈥檚 Tampa Bay Rays for an undisclosed amount from former principal owner Stuart Sternberg in a deal unanimously approved by MLB owners. This is the third ownership group of the Rays since MLB awarded Tampa Bay an expansion franchise in 1995.
- Served as legal advisor to Hampton Golf-managed entities in their sale of Southern Hills Plantation Club to Heritage Golf Group. This transaction is the fourth and final property sale of the聽multi-club agreement聽in which 麻豆直播 advised Hampton Golf-managed entities. The agreement also involved the prior sale of three other properties: The Plantation Golf & Country Club, County Club of Ocala, and The Palencia Club to Heritage Golf Group.
- Served as legal advisor to the joint venture purchaser of Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. South Street Partners, a leading private equity real estate investment and development firm headquartered in Charlotte and Charleston; Dream Finders Homes, a nationally recognized homebuilder headquartered in Jacksonville and the Official Home Builder of the PGA TOUR; Pat Battle, Executive Chairman of Diamond Baseball Holdings and past Chairman and CEO of IMG College (fka: Collegiate Licensing Company) and select joint venture equity partners together acquired the 66 acres adjacent to the iconic PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, home of the annual THE PLAYERS championship since 1982. The joint venture will focus on significantly elevating the resort鈥檚 offerings, with plans for a comprehensive renovation.
- Served as legal adviser to Cabot Saint Lucia Inc., led by Cabot co-founder and CEO Ben Cowan-Dewar, in connection with securing its $100 million construction facility from VICI Lendco LLC, a subsidiary of real estate investment trust VICI Properties Inc., for the build-out of its resort golf community Cabot Saint Lucia.
- Represented Tower Three Golf Champions Retreat LLC, a subsidiary of the private equity firm Tower Three Partners, founded by Bill Forrest, in its sale of the Champions Retreat Golf Club to Arcis Golf LLC.
- Served as legal adviser to NEXUS Luxury Collection (NEXUS) in structuring the equity investment and transaction for its plans to open T-Squared Social, a premium sports and entertainment gastro pub, in St. Andrews, Scotland.
Awards and Recognition
- Peer-review rated as AV Preeminent庐, the highest performance rating in the Martindale-Hubbell庐 Peer Review Ratings鈩 system
- Recognized by Chambers USA: America鈥檚 Leading Business Lawyers (2004 鈥 2026)
- Selected for inclusion in the 2006 鈥 2017 Florida Super Lawyers庐 lists
- Recognized by The Legal 500 in the area of real estate (2010 and 2013 鈥 2016)
- Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America漏 in the fields of Real Estate Law (2007 鈥 2026) and Leisure and Hospitality Law (2013 鈥 2026)
- Named The Best Lawyers庐 2021 and 2024 Leisure and Hospitality Law 鈥淟awyer of the Year鈥 in Tampa
Affiliations
- Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament
- Past president of the United States Golf Association (2004 鈥 2005)