Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale made his money in the furniture and mattress business, but the owner of Gallery Furniture is equally big on Houston’s sports scene. That’s why he thinks it’s only natural to put his money and his name behind a new website dedicated to Houston sports content.
“I’ve always had an interest in sports and my son (James) and I love content that will drive customers to Gallery Furniture,” McIngvale said Tuesday. “We thought sports were a perfect way to connect with our customers and with all sports fans in Houston.”
McIngvale has made big news in recent years with his multi-million dollar bets on major sporting events – including the more than $40 million he must raise if the Astros win this year’s World Series – and it plans to launch a second site – Gallery Gaming – which will focus on sports betting.
“It will be a separate site with content talking about different ratings, scenarios and some of the crazy things I do,” McIngvale said.
On his main sports site, McIngvale enlisted the help of former Houston Chronicle writers, including John McClain, Richard Justice and John P. Lopez.
“I’ve read them in the Houston Chronicle for 40 years and think they’re great writers, so I think this is a great opportunity for them to write and a great opportunity for them to give our clients informative analysis. on their favorite teams,” McIngvale said.
The site is free to readers and so far has only one ad – for Gallery Furniture, of course.
“We’re not concerned about revenue right now, more concerned about eyeballs,” McIngvale said. “My business philosophy is always: Would customers miss us if we went bankrupt tomorrow? So, the site would be a success if it gave readers insightful content about their teams and they enjoyed reading it every day.