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- A Tax Credit For Youth Sports?
This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
A special welcome to our new subscribers from Perfect Game, Unrivaled Sports, the Texas Motor Speedway, and Nike, among many others.
In the email today:
🏛️ A Federal Tax Credit For Youth Sports?
House.gov
That is exactly what New York Rep. Mike Lawler is trying to achieve.
The two-term Republican has introduced the Home Run For Kids Act, which would provide up to $200 in tax credits for families to pay for equipment if their kids are involved in organized sports activities and the family earns $150,000 or less in a year.
This is not Lawler’s first rodeo with youth sports legislation.
He and New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat, proposed the Promoting Lifelong Activity for Youth Act in 2023, which would have established more wide-ranging tax credits and also created a federal grant program for youth sports as studies indicate kids from low-income families are half as likely to participate as children from high-income families.
The average family paid $250 for one child’s equipment and uniforms last year, according to Project Play. So Lawler’s bill is pretty accurate on that front.
But it remains a proverbial drop in the bucket in the grand scheme. The average family paid close to $1,500 for one child’s overall youth sports experiences last year, and costs have gone up close to 50% over the last five years.
And that’s before you start factoring in the impact of tariffs, as we deep-dived last week:
🏢 Youth Sports Facilities News
The city of Lakeland, Florida, has grappled with a shortage of youth sports fields for years.
One organization in town — the Lakeland Tropics Soccer Club — has proposed a controversial fix.
The club has offered to pay $600,000 over 10 years to install lights on two unlit multipurpose fields in return for exclusive control of those fields. You can read more about the situation here via The Lakeland Ledger.
Elsewhere in the facilities world …
Casper, Wyoming: The 150,000-square-foot WYO Sports Ranch has generated $1 million in economic impact in its first two months of operation.
Palm Coast, Florida: A $100 million public-private, indoor/outdoor youth sports complex project is being met with “cautious positivity” after a past attempt generated public backlash.
👨🏻 Parents Behaving Badly
Things got a little — OK, a lot — out of hand at a youth street hockey game in New Jersey.
Three adults — a pair of 38-year-old men and a 41-year-old woman — face assault charges after a brawl broke out at a tournament in Egg Harbor Township.
The American Ball Hockey Alliance — yes, that is a real thing — suspended the teams involved from the event. One of the team’s coaches was also suspended.
đź’Ľ Transactions Wire
Perfect Game SEC has hired former East Carolina softball player Mary Williams as a managing partner. She will spearhead the development and expansion of the organization’s softball tournaments. Williams has 10 years of experience with tournaments, and Perfect Game said she will bring over 3,000 teams into the organization upon her arrival.
🏀 The NBA Really Wants The US Youth Basketball System To Mirror Europe’s
The term “Balkanization” could become completely rehabbed at this point.
We went deep a few weeks back on the NBA’s desire to transform the U.S. youth basketball landscape and establish a developmental system similar to those found in Europe, with the Balkan nations serving as a blueprint.
Our send came on the heels of a lengthy Washington Post report on the league’s plan of action.
The Athletic — owned by The New York Times — has now chimed in with its own examination of the NBA’s aim to tap into the European pipeline, as well as a look at how the push coincides with commissioner Adam Silver’s designs on establishing a NBA-controlled professional league on the continent.
🤔 A Thought-Provoking Column
Mac Engel, a long-time sports columnist for The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, has an interesting view on the major upheaval in college sports — the House settlement, NIL, et cetera — and how it may trickle down to youth sports.
The take: Schools may be forced to reduce scholarship opportunities — and even outright eliminate programs — in non-revenue sports so they can adapt to the new NCAA model in football, men’s basketball and other revenue-driving sports.
Does that mean families should think twice about investing energy, time and money for their kids to pursue, in Engel’s words, “the sports that people play but don’t necessarily watch?”
You can read the full column here.
👨‍💻 More Youth Sports Links
đź“‹ Job Alert: Tournament Director, Diamond Nation (Unrivaled Sports)
Diamond Nation — one of the original youth sports complex behemoths — was purchased by the David Blitzer-backed Unrivaled Sports last year. The Flemington, New Jersey-based facility is now seeking a tournament director to manage its youth baseball and softball tournaments.
The role: The Tournament Director at Diamond Nation is responsible for overseeing the seamless operation of all youth baseball and softball tournaments. This includes managing game day operations, equipment and field setup, scheduling, and resolving issues as they arise. The position reports to the Director of Event Operations and may have interns and/or assistants to help with pre-tournament tasks and on-site management. The director will work closely with various departments, including maintenance, retail, and food and beverage, to ensure all aspects of the event are coordinated and aligned, providing an excellent experience for participants and families. The role requires a strong leader with excellent organizational and communication skills who can manage high-pressure situations and ensure positive outcomes for the event.
The job requires previous experience in sports tournament management, particularly in baseball/softball. Diamond Nation is about 75 minutes away from both New York and Philadelphia.
Here’s the full Indeed.com description.
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Good game.