Colorado’s Premiere Event Production Company Team Player Productions Announces New Ownership
Husband and wife duo who collectively spent over a decade working for the company to assume command
GOLDEN, Colo. (March 05, 2025)- Team Player Productions (TPP), the acclaimed event producers that have put on more than 400 events across the country including world-class immersive events like Boulder Creek Festival, Vail Wine Classic, and Park City Wine Festival, have announced that Kristen and Ryan Slater have assumed ownership of the company.
The husband and wife duo, who are now both co-owners as well as COO and CEO respectively, have spent over a decade with Team Player Productions. Kristen started with TPP as an intern in 2012 and Ryan moved to Colorado from New York in 2018 to work with the company. The two lovebirds married in 2020.
“We met working at Team Player Productions, so our relationship has always been a balance of colleagues as well as husband and wife and there is no one else I would rather go into partnership with professionally,” says TPP Co-Owner and CEO Kristen Slater. “He is the most supportive person in and out of the workplace and has insisted that I earned the CEO position. I know that even on the worst days, we would still choose to do the work we do because we’ve built it together.”
Jason Ornstein founded Team Player Productions in 1996 putting on his first event, the inaugural Taste of Fort Collins at the Oval at Colorado State University. Over the years, Ornstein’s team would grow from 2 to 11, putting on wine festivals in Park City UT and Steamboat, Colo., and producing a number of TPP signature events that range from top-tier food and wine festivals, like the Breckenridge Wine Classic and Savor Big Sky, and can’t-miss food events to neighborhood block parties like Tennyson Street Fair and Highlands Oktoberfest. As Ornstein passes the torch to his protegees, he looks forward to spending time with his wife and two daughters and enjoying outdoor adventures like surfing and flyfishing.
“We have put on so many events in the past 28 years, but when I reflect on what I’m the most proud of, it’s the culture that we’ve created over time. We have the best team in the business because we truly care for one another and the reason for our success is because we are team players,” says TPP Founder Jason Ornstein. “Each year brings new memories and experiences that are fondly reflected upon. I am so happy Ryan and Kristen’s paths crossed here at TPP as there is no one else I would entrust TPP’s future with than these two wonderful leaders.”
A look into TPP’s storied history:
1992: Jason graduates from Colorado State University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and communications and begins working for a sporting events company but is fired for not being a “team player” which sparks the inspiration for his company
1996: TPP is founded with its first event – the Taste of Fort Collins at Colorado State University. Jason sells the event, which had grown in size over the years, to Townsquare Media
2004: TPP puts on their first wine festivals in Park City, Utah and Steamboat, Colo
2012: Kristen Horpedahl graduates from Colorado State University with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management and sets her eyes on TPP
2013: Kristen is hired fulltime at TPP working on marketing and events
2018: Ryan, a musician and concert promoter, moves to Colorado from New York and begins working at TPP
2020: Kristen and Ryan are married
2021: Kristen and Ryan have a baby and take over management of TPP operations and begin rebuilding festival protocols following Covid
2025: Kristen and Ryan take over ownership at TPP
“Ryan and I never thought of ourselves as business owners but we are honored to lead the incredible team at TPP,” says Slater. “It takes a particular kind of person to work a 12-hour day that ends in packing a truck in the rain, but then we laugh about it over a beer. Their attitude and work ethic is incomparable and we are proud to be there working alongside them.”
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About Team Player Productions:
Founded more than 28 years ago in Denver, Team Player Productions (TPP) has produced and managed more than 400 events around the country, raising more than $2 million for its various nonprofit partners. TPP has created and continues to produce beloved annual events including Vail Wine Classic, Breckenridge Wine Classic and Vail Craft Beer Classic, and adopted others, such as Denver Burger Battle and Boulder Creek Festival. The company was also the originator of events including Taste of Fort Collins, Steamboat Wine Festival and Park City Food & Wine Classic. TPP consults and produces events for a portfolio of clients as well, such as Goose Island Beer Co., Blue Point Brewing Co., Great Divide Brewing Company, Odell Brewing Company, Red Bull, City of Centennial, Anheuser-Busch, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and City of Littleton. For more information, visit TPPEvents.com, or follow @TPPEvents on Facebook and @TeamPlayerProductions on Instagram.