🥎 Inside Look At All-Everything Youth Sports Complex

This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.

Let’s get to it.

If you are looking for a microcosm of everything going on in the youth sports industry, consider making a trek to the Pacific Northwest.

“Yes,” MODE Sports VP Scott Reid said with a laugh when asked if the sprawling, soon-to-be 500K-square-football complex in Liberty Lake, Washington, is a facility, an academy or an elite club platform. “We are one-of-a-kind.”

Name an industry trend — amenities, education, facilities, family experience, sponsorships, tournaments — and you will likely ID it here.

MODE — which means “to gather with purpose” in Danish — was established by Lucas Kjar, the founder and former CEO of AutoSource (now AutoSavvy), a nationwide branded titles car dealer.

Kjar founded Liberty Launch Academy — a K-12 school with about 250 students — which operates on the MODE campus.

The campus consists of an operational 220K-square-foot community hub and a planned 280K-square-foot sports complex that will begin construction soon.

The community hub:

The sports complex:

LLA has a secular curriculum, but the school encourages students and faculty to express their respective faiths. Reid said LLA is beginning to leverage AI to improve and individualize the educational experience, but it resembles a traditional school in many ways.

MODE Prep — an elite high school boys basketball team — just played its first season on the Adidas circuit. MODE’s club volleyball teams are among the nation’s best in their age groups. MODE will expand its club offerings once the complex opens.

LLA teams are separate from MODE Prep; they compete under Washington’s state governing body’s umbrella.

MODE’s community hub is currently open from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. with plans to expand hours in the future. Reid said the ability to optimize the facility outside of sports hours drives the business; the complex will then unlock sports tourism revenue — and offer families amenities outside of competition.

Reid said MODE is also interested in corporate partnerships. Another angle that makes it unique in the industry — what it can offer to potential partners.

The location is appealing for corporate retreats, sitting between Spokane and Couer d’Alene, Idaho. MODE has entertainment options like Indy Car simulators on campus. Kjar also owns a concert venue/race track in the region.

“Let’s build a system where the kids can excel in their sports, but families can really enjoy the experience,” Reid said. “Don’t view it as a complete burden to have an athlete at home and all of their vacation time, all of their extra money goes to that.”

What is Playbook365? I keep seeing it everywhere … and everyone is using it.

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Staybook is a housing and travel platform built for youth sports.

Playbook365 helps youth sports organizations operate more efficiently, generate additional revenue, and deliver a better experience for families, partners and teams on — and off — the court and field.

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The Sports Facilities Companies has acquired Spirit Golf and launched a golf division.

SFC will add seven fully-managed courses across eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. It will also add about 160 full-time and seasonal employees, including PGA pros.

Spirit will continue to operate under its existing brand; founder Mike Attara will lead SFC’s golf division as a SVP.

SFC will also continue to operate Spirit Golf Academy, a developmental program for youth players of all ages and skill levels.

SFC said it plans to integrate the curriculum across its facilities and add other golf programming, including youth camps and community events.

Quick Take: Youth golf’s participation numbers are roaring — as we’ve written in the past. This move by SFC is only going create more access and reduce friction for entry.

Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport could be closed to make way for a multi-purpose zone that includes a 180-acre youth sports complex.

Mayor Justin Bibb recently presented a preliminary plan to transform the site. Potential plans include the complex — which would have outdoor fields and a fieldhouse — as well as hotels, an 18-hole golf course, campgrounds and RV parking, a helicopter vertport and a business zone on the water.

There is a catch though. Three, actually.

Bibb made mention of public-private partnerships. But he also suggested some projects — like the youth sports complex — will be profitable enough to fund themselves.

Officials believe the youth sports complex could bring 400-500 families to town each weekend.

The World Equestrian Center in Ocala received the green light to build a sprawling youth sports complex.

Marion County officials signed off on a revised plan after some pushback from local residents and groups.

The big concession: WEC must limit the number of concerts it hosts in the first year so officials can study any traffic or noise issues.

WEC already has hotels, restaurants and retail on its campus.

The Varsity Spirit-backed upstart league will hold its championship event tonight in Nashville, capping an inaugural season Spirit president Bill Seely said “surpassed all expectations.”

PCL has four teams and has used a barnstorming format, holding five events (tonight is No. 5) in different cities. The league made headlines when it drew 1.6M viewers for its first live national broadcast on Ion — a number that beat all other sports programming that evening.

Seely said PCL has averaged about 1.2M viewers per broadcast, only being bested by Olympics coverage in its timeslot. Seely told Buying Sandlot the plan is to double the event total for the 2027 season, but it will stick with four teams to maintain its talent level.

Varsity Spirit — owned by Varsity Brands — is the dominant force in youth cheer camps and competitions. It is also pushing to make stunt into a D1 sport — see the Marshall move we wrote about Wednesday — and is aiming to get cheer into the 2032 Olympics.

Team USA has its first household name in the fold.

Robert Griffin III has been invited to a pair of upcoming training camps for the U.S. men’s national team. He will be one of 24 athletes in the mix to form the 12-man team that will compete at this August’s world championships event in Germany.

The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner, 36, has not played in the NFL since 2020. But he earned the invite after performing well at team trials last weekend. So his inclusion does not seem to be a gimmick.

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Good game.