This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
Let’s get to it.
In the email today:
💸 A Tax Debacle In The Heartland
The largest youth sports facility in Iowa could shutter just months after it opened, according to its operator.
The non-profit Iowa Youth Athletic Foundation is suing for the Kettlestone Central Sports Complex in Waukee to receive tax-exempt status, according to The Des Moines Register.
The organization claims it will be forced to close the $40M facility or sell to a for-profit buyer if Dallas County does not relent. The county has already denied an appeal by the organization.
The stakes are not insignificant:
140K-square-foot complex (two 70K-square-foot buildings)
12 basketball courts/18 volleyball courts
Wrestling and pickleball space
Part of a $350M multi-use development
Projected annual economic impact of $125M
The organization operates two tax-exempt facilities in Ames and the Waukee YMCA is tax-exempt, but the county assessed the complex and its land as commercial property worth close to $20M.
There is a temporary injunction against property taxes on the site, which opened in April. But a court ruling on whether the IYAF has to put up an injunction bond is pending.
A non-jury trial is scheduled for next April with taxes set to become due in September; the IYAF estimates its annual tax bill would be at least $500K.
The IYAF has business and leadership ties to for-profit entities, according to the report, including a developer involved in the surrounding projects. The IYAF’s statewide All Iowa Attack basketball program does have some fees-based offerings as well. But the IRS considers the IYAF a public charity, according to the report, and its recent tax filings showed $4.4M in revenue (including $1.5M in donations and grants) and $2.9M in expenses.
The organization has no employees and said any excess revenue goes toward reserves and charitable endeavors.
Real estate and taxes are NOT MY AREA OF EXPERTISE.
But.
This is an interesting case of a non-profit wrapped inside a for-profit residential and commercial zone. On one hand, the county benefits from the influx of attendees and that $125 million of “economic impact”, according to a study.
On the other hand… it sits in the middle of a mixed-use zone that includes apartments and commercial property. IYAF may not be making money of it, but others certainly are or will, at least indirectly.
I imagine you’ll see more examples of local governments trying to extract some money from “non-profit” endeavors.
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protect spectators, athletes, and parents
ward off age-based cheating
This is the same technology that was recently demoed at the Connect Marketplace conference in Miami, where hospitals, schools, major corporations, aerospace and even military organizations saw how Flash Biometrics could instantly and securely verify identities.
Through a quick facial scan taken at registration or on the field before the game, Zorts helps tournament organizers weed out fraud, cheating, and worse.
Find out how your platform can offer this class-leading feature to your customers right here.
*Sponsor
📰 More Prestige Media Attention For Youth Sports
Bloomberg is back again with a look at the industry through the lens of baseball.
The non-subtle headline: Parents Are Spending $100,000 for Their Kids to Chase Baseball Greatness
An excerpt about youth phenom Striker Pence (related to Hunter Pence)— who seems almost a walking, throwing definition for nominative determinism:
Striker’s family estimates they have spent more than $100,000 on equipment and travel to showcases where coaches and scouts could watch Striker and his baseball-playing younger brothers, Ace, 15, and Maverick, 13, play. One frequent outlay: New nets for their home batting cage, which need refreshing whenever one of them hits the ball hard enough to rip it.
The report touches on all levels of the ecosystem, including past Buying Sandlot subject New York Empire Baseball. And it strikes an optimistic tone about the future of youth baseball — something that was in doubt quite recently.
A record 17.3M people in the U.S. played baseball last year, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.
The money quote was delivered by youth baseball parent Howie Pence: “I probably could have paid for these kids to go to college with how much I’ve put into this."
🏀 Let’s Check Back In With Utah
Smith Entertainment Group — the parent company of the Jazz and Mammoth — announced a multi-year partnership with HealthEquity.
The HSA administrator will be an associate sponsor of the newly-launched Utah Jazz Bantam Basketball League. It will also cover full tuition and fees for up to 50 youth athletes annually.
The league is for kids in grades 3-8 and is a competitive platform for athletes "seeking a more advanced, structured, and developmental experience." It launched last weekend with close to 300 teams and over 2.2K participants.
The Jazz said they had 70K athletes in their Junior Jazz youth program earlier this year, the most of any NBA team. The Mammoth are also aggressively launching youth hockey programming in an effort to hit that number by 2029.
Included here is a recently-posted interview with Jazz owner Ryan Smith.
⚽️ USL Makes Big-Time Hire
The men’s pro league has landed Tony Scholes — the Premier League’s chief [soccer] officer — to be the president of its new first division, which will launch in 2028 with promotion and relegation in a bid to compete with MLS.
Scholes oversees the Premier League’s academy system in his current role, which he will continue through the end of this current season.
USL has been aggressive in terms of establishing connections to youth soccer development with its clubs— it is also involved in a slew of multi-use development projects that included youth sports facilities and programming.
📝 Youth Sports News + Notes
CNN recently published a report about the surge of elbow injuries in youth baseball. It included this alarming statistic: Dr. Christopher Ahmad, the Yankees’ team physician, performs about 10-15 Tommy John surgeries every week. About 8-10 of them are on high school pitchers.
Wichita has landed another major youth sports event and will host USA Judo’s Youth National Championships in 2026. Wichita recently secured U.S. Soccer’s National Presidents Cup for 2026-28 and was named the nation’s top sports tourism host city.
Scotland’s football association said it will make a “substantial change” to the country’s talent ID and development system following a review process. While Scotland has a strong chance to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 36 years this cycle, the SFA said the number of professional players from the country has reached a “crisis point.”
USA Today published an investigative report on the now-discontinued charitable 50-50 raffles at Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets games. The raffle was supposed to support youth hockey in the state, but over $500K in funds have either disappeared or were misused. No criminal charges have been filed, but the raffle manager was found civilly liable (he denies any wrongdoing).
🔗 Youth Sports Links
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Good game.