Wheelhouse and Omaha Productions Invest in BBQ World Cup & Expo

The BBQ World Cup & Expo has announced an investment from Wheelhouse, the content, talent and investment company founded by Brent Montgomery, and Omaha Productions, founded by Peyton Manning. The company did not disclose the amount.

The event is structured as a season. Season One, the Road to $1 Million, connects 51 qualifying events across 13 countries. The top 100 pitmasters advance to the BBQ World Cup & Expo in Las Vegas, April 8-11, 2027, hosted by Caesars Entertainment on the Las Vegas Strip. They will compete for a $1 million purse in front of an expected 30,000 to 40,000 fans over four days.

Since launching in February, the company has built its audience on organic and earned channels with no paid media. As of Oct. 21, it had reached nearly 1.8 million organic content views in 2026 and a newsletter of more than 1,400 subscribers with a 62% open rate.

The investment funds three priorities: the build of the inaugural event in Las Vegas; the expansion of BBQ United, a year-round digital home for barbecue fans and competitors; and the launch of Smoke Ring, a creator network that brings leading barbecue creators together and gives national brands a year-round way into barbecue culture.

Co-Founders Scott Erdmann, CEO, and Shannon Pruitt, President, continue to lead the company. David Swinghamer joins as co-founder and partner. He was founding CEO of Shake Shack, leading its growth from a single food cart to more than 60 locations worldwide ahead of its IPO, and created the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party while at Union Square Hospitality Group. He currently advises and invests in food and hospitality brands including Hai Hospitality, Snooze and Hattie B's Hot Chicken.

The company is also supported by advisors including Charlie Ebersol, investor and advisor; Reed Bergman, President/Managing Partner, RBB Ventures; Chad Ward, Founder, Whiskey Bent BBQ; and Steve Ziff, advisor.

Every sport starts as a community before it becomes a property, says Brent Montgomery, Founder and CEO, Wheelhouse. Barbecue has the competitors, the events and the fans. Scott and Shannon built the season that connects them, and that is the moment you invest. Doing it alongside Peyton and Omaha made it an easy call.

We're proud to invest in the BBQ World Cup & Expo, says Peyton Manning, Founder, Omaha Productions. At Omaha we create content to uplift and unify, and BBQ can bring people together in the same way. I'm excited to see these talented pitmasters compete on a championship stage.

As the creator of the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party, I know what happens when you give barbecue a real stage. What Scott and Shannon built goes further than an event, says Swinghamer. A season, a qualifying path, and a championship is the structure this community has never had, and it is what turns a great weekend into a business. It is a delight to be building it with them.

The pitmasters built this sport over decades, says Erdmann. This investment lets us build the season, the community and the stage around them, and gives the brands that already live in barbecue a way to show up all year.

Sports properties are built when a competition, a community and the right partners come together, says Pruitt. Competitive barbecue has had the first two for decks. With Wheelhouse and Omaha, it has the partners to build the stage, and to give brands and fans a season to follow from the first qualifier to the final turn-in in Las Vegas.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/10/23/wheelhouse-and-omaha-production...
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