ASHBURN, VA. — Washington Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder strolled the sidelines at his team's training camp like the boss at a company picnic.
As floodlights bathed the field one recent night and the sticky summer air cooled, he chatted with coaches and team executives. When star receiver Santana Moss jogged off for some water, Snyder shook his hand.
But when the scrimmage heated up, so did Snyder. He moved quickly in his Redskins polo shirt and khaki pants, angling for a clear view through a crowd of players. A long touchdown pass brought a roar from several thousand fans. Snyder nodded his head in approval and then clapped along with them.
Now, Snyder is hoping to score again. This time it's with his new passion, Hollywood, where he's come off the sidelines to enter what is often a risky game for outsiders.
His business playbook now includes making such TV shows as "The Golden Globes" through Dick Clark Productions, financing Tom Cruise's production company, control of Six Flags Inc. theme parks and ownership of Johnny Rockets restaurants. As he spoke about his investments, Snyder said Hollywood wasn't so different from the smash-mouth world of professional football.
"People have the passion to watch sports, to watch entertainment, movies, to go to a concert," said Snyder, 42, whose boyish looks and easy laugh temper a relentless ambition. "Why do you buy tickets to a concert?. . . Because it's a passion."
To help assemble his companies, Snyder formed a $748-million private equity fund, RedZone Capital, in 2004 to invest in entertainment properties after becoming familiar with the industry through his work on the National Football League's broadcast committee. Snyder has tapped less than half of the fund and said he planned to be "extremely acquisitive."
Some analysts have speculated he is trying to emulate Walt Disney Co., which has a variety of family entertainment properties. But although Snyder said Disney Chief Executive Robert A. Iger has "America's coolest job," he insisted he had no mouse-cloning strategy. He's just trying to be "opportunistic."
"I've never in my life had a 10-year business plan," Snyder said at RedZone's sleek corporate offices in nearby McLean, Va. "I'm a college dropout."
