NEW YORK — This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
We will be at LeagueApps’ NextUp event here today and tomorrow. If you are attending and would like to meet up with me (Kyle), James, or Paul (partnerships and sponsorships), reply to this email and we’ll find some time to connect.
Let’s get to it.
In the email today:
📈 EventConnect Launches New AI-Powered Tool
Economic impact is discussed everywhere you turn in the youth sports industry.
But the methodology to land on the big seven-, eight- and nine-figure numbers attached to every new sports complex or sprawling volleyball tournament is often opaque — at best. And there is rarely any follow-up on whether the projection became reality after the fact.
Event Connect — a Buying Sandlot sponsor — has launched a new platform to bring data-backed intelligence and transparency to the space.
Quantism by EventConnect will provide “AI-driven, objective, data-backed validation for economic impact reporting in sports events across North America."
The platform applies quantitative research methods, analytics and data to youth sports events and facilities.
EventConnect said the infrastructure will rival enterprise-level systems used for retail and urban planning and assist everything from event bids to sports commissions to municipalities.
Real-time and post-event analysis on lodging, spending and travel patterns
Certified post-event reports with metrics for stakeholders and sponsors
Benchmarking tools to compare impact across event scales, regions and sports
Real-time data generated by customized prompts
The tool is currently being used through pilot programs with select destination and event partners.
I have written about projected economic impact too many times to count since I came aboard.
I can think of one instance off the top of my head — The Sports Facilities Companies’ AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk — where a report card has been provided after a facility opened. And most governmental and regional tourism reports lack specifics behind the big numbers they tout.
A platform that cuts through the generalities — and perhaps exaggerations — and delivers cold, hard data with no room for BS could be a revelation for the industry.
Youth sports is far from the only space where people promise the moon to get a big project done and then often underdeliver.
But the way I look at it: If a major city oversells the impact of building a new NFL stadium, there are undoubtedly consequences. But they still have an NFL team and a venue that can host concerts, Super Bowls, Final Fours, WrestleManias, etc.
If a rural county in the Midwest overextends itself to build a gigantic youth soccer complex in the chase of hundreds of million bucks and it flops … the situation is likely far more dire.
So a tool that can both validate success stories and potentially prevent futile pursuits will have immense value.
📸 Keep Your Tournament Secure, And Get Help Whenever You Need It*
We have all been there. You urgently need customer support and you end up spending hours on the phone, only to be routed to an overseas call center. Or even worse — the only contact method is an email account that will not receive a response for a day, if at all.
That is not the case with Zorts. The cutting-edge youth sports management and safety platform also offers best-in-class customer service.
Zorts reps are U.S.-based and available 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. Including holidays. And shifts are strategically scheduled on a week-by-week basis to ensure someone is there to answer the phone when you need them.
Reps will be able to assist operators utilizing Zorts ID with Flash Biometrics with any issues or questions, ensuring the platform is positioned to safeguard events with its background checks and age-verification software.
Top customers will have their own rep and there is no call too small.
Find out how your platform can offer this class-leading feature to your customers right here.
*Sponsor
⚽️ Lionel Messi Announces Elite Youth Soccer Tournament
The Messi Cup will be played Dec. 9-14 in Miami, featuring eight professional clubs’ U16 teams.
The participants: Inter Miami, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Newell’s Old Boys and River Plate.
Messi’s 525 Rosario production company is organizing the event, calling it “a live event series and digital-first platform that merges sport, culture and innovation.”
There will be a soccer industry summit and other shoulder programming alongside the competition.
Is Leo Messi going to become youth soccer’s Cal Ripken?
The superstar is already tied to several kit sponsorship deals involving either his personal brand or the Mas+ by Messi sports drink*. Now he is adding a major tournament under his name — and what sounds like a pretty comprehensive plan to generate exposure and build a platform.
The potential future steps are not hard to envision — more Messi-branded tournaments, Messi-branded recreational leagues, The Messi Experience by Unrivaled Sports featuring mini versions of Anfield, Camp Nou, Estadio Azteca and Wrexham’s Racecourse.
Ripken has proven how an iconic athlete’s name and presence can establish a standard for both club/travel and rec competitions. Messi could do the same.
The big question, of course, is whether Messi shares Ripken’s passion for athlete development. Or if he is just a businessman with a strong team seizing on opportunities.
Either one is a plus, of course.
* — In the 2025 version of the Cola Wars: Logan Paul’s Prime Hydration and Mas+ and Messi are suing each other. Mas+ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Prime; Prime then counter-sued and is alleged Messi has made contradictory statements about his involvement with the product in order to unlawfully pursue business interests.
🏛️ California Youth Sports Bill Becomes Law
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed the Youth Sports for All Act.
The much-discussed legislation will establish a commission to study youth sports inequalities. The commission is also tasked with determining whether a new governmental board or department should be formed to improve youth sports access in the state.
The Los Angeles Rams, dozens of organizations and former Lakers star Derek Fisher were among the bill’s high-profile supporters. But it has become a politically-charged topic in recent weeks as part of the national debate on transgender athlete participation.
🚨 A Wild Story From The Midwest
A former Indiana basketball player is accused of scamming a youth sports parent out of close to $50K.
Todd Leary, 54, played for the Hoosiers from 1989-94. The victim said he first made contact with Leary to train his son after hearing a radio ad for his private coaching business.
Leary received $3K for his services, then allegedly bilked the parent out of over $45K more in a series of payments under the guise of creating and then operating a non-existent AAU team.
🔗 Youth Sports Links
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Good game.