This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
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In the email today:
🏛️ A New State-Level Body Proposed
An Alabama state legislator and some other heavy hitters are pushing to establish a youth sports study group in the Yellowhammer State.
The Alabama Commission on Youth Sports would be different from Massachusetts’ proposed youth sports governing body and California’s Youth Sports For All Act, which established a state-funded study commission.
The commission would need to be established via legislation or an executive order from the governor. But once stood up it would have “no staff, no standing budget, no regulatory enforcement power,” according to State Rep. David Faulkner (R-Mountain Brook), with unpaid members acting in advisory roles.
The commission would focus on increased participation -- specifically in rural counties -- as well as athlete safety and "keeping the money youth sports generates here in Alabama." Its scope would be ages 14 and under; the AHSAA’s oversight of high school sports in the state would not be impacted.
The concept was first pitched in a white paper published earlier this summer by Dr. Darin White of Samford University’s Center for Sports Analytics and Sports Industry Program.
The paper was in partnership with the Coach Safely Foundation and the Andrews Research and Education Foundation, which is helmed by famed Birmingham-based surgeon Dr. James Andrews.
While the commission would not be a government body, it would likely be political to some extent.
A contingent of commission advocates and lawmakers including recently visited Washington and met with Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL). And the white paper says the commission would “position the next Governor of Alabama ... to become the national leader on an issue that touches the lives of nearly every family in the state."
Former Auburn football coach and current Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is the favorite to be elected governor later this fall. He has been very involved in Capitol Hill’s college sports debates.
While the pitch right now may be that this is not another government body, some of the ambitions and goals laid out in the white paper would probably require some sort of regulatory heft to be achieved.
Case in point: The emphasis on economic value flowing out of the state through outside partners that work with parks and rec organizations and that "online service providers that manage scheduling, registration, and payment processing for youth sports organizations also collect significant revenue from Alabama families."
“Without a coordinating body at the state level, there is no mechanism to ensure that the economic activity generated on public property benefits the communities that provide the facilities, the coaches, and the children,” the paper states.
Along those lines: It sounds like youth sports venues would be a focus, both in terms of building them and ensuring that Alabama residents benefit more from them. Reporting on the commission proposal included an interview with a facility owner who said out-of-state demand has made it costlier and more difficult for locals to utilize complexes.
This feels like a state-level money grab more than improving sport participation and safety in Alabama.
Why?
The press release focuses on the money leaving the state. The line about out-of-state registration platforms benefitting from family spend is absurd— the press release was 64% written by AI, according to Pangram, and likely on a device designed in California and assembled in China. Tech value leaves almost all states, all the time— youth sports isn’t unique there.
Alabama says it is trying to form a coalition to figure out how to pull money from the proposed Youth Sports Facilities Act, which makes available economic development funds for, well, youth sports facilities and is heavily rooted in tourism economics.
The irony, of course, is that out-of-state demand bemoaned by at least one facility owner here would increase in this scenario.
Go Deeper: Governments trying to address youth sports accessibility and affordability often step right into the exact dynamic most responsible for driving up cost in the first place: out-of-state travel. I can’t tell if this is accidental or on purpose. Every state and town in America is rightfully happy to earn the tourism spend that comes from building facilities, but it’s this very proliferation which drives up costs for all. I’m a capitalist and don’t take a moral stance here, but it’s fighting fire with fire.
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Background checks
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📺 Major Views For Little League Softball World Series
This year’s event racked up a billion viewing minutes — a 48% YoY increase, according to Little League International, after ABC and ESPN carried all 22 LLSWS games on linear television.
15.5M viewers watched at least one minute
Title game averaged 1.3M viewers, peaked at 1.5M; second-best broadcast on record
Average of 361K viewers across LLSWS, regional games; up 4% YoY
457K viewers for ABC/ESPN games, up 16% YoY
LLI also said it has seen a 9% YoY participation spike for Tee Ball Softball.
🧱 Youth Sports Facilities News
Casper, Wyoming: The city has approved an $18M expansion to the Casper Ice Arena, adding a second ice sheet. About $4M will be covered by public money; the rest of the project will be privately funded.
Detroit, Michigan: Carhartt and Ford recently renovated a baseball field at the city’s Belle Isle Park. The venue is used by over a dozen local organizations.
Geneseo, Illinois: A family wants to convert 26 acres of its land into a venue honoring their late son. The Seth Ernst Memorial Sports Complex has a projected $6-7M price tag; early plans call for five soccer fields, 12 pickleball courts, a playground and splash pad and close to 500 parking spots.
Jackson, New Jersey: The Dome at Adventure Crossing will host a dozen major youth sports events as part of a new initiative with the neighboring Adventure Sports complex. The 100K-square-foot venue has turf, Trackman Golf suites, an indoor driving range, an arcade and an adjoining bar and grill.
Jonesboro, Arkansas: The Sports Facilities Companies-managed First Community Bank Sportsplex will partner with Arkansas State University, which is located in the city. The school will be the venue’s education partner; the cafe will be known as the Red Wolves Cafe.
St. Louis, Missouri: The city is considering turning a dilapidated former elementary school and surrounding areas into a sprawling youth sports and arts complex. Plans include a baseball diamond, several rectangular fields, basketball and tennis courts, a swimming pool and a gym.
🏏 Indian Cricket Team Adds Another U.S. Academy
Delhi Capitals Cricket Academy has launched its third location in the U.S., partnering with Premier Cricket Academy on a center in Plainville, Connecticut, a Hartford suburb.
Programming starts at age 5 for boys, girls
Performance-focused training
Advanced coaching resources, coaching exchanges
Opportunities across Delhi Capitals Academy ecosystem
The Indian Premier League club also has academies in Edison, New Jersey, and Seattle. There is also a Canadian academy in Mississauga, Ontario.
Cricket will return to the Olympics after a 128-year absence at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
🤳 Catching Up With ‘Baby Gronk’
The Dallas Morning-News published a fascinating feature on the viral youth football star and his father, who has been the frequent target of criticism over the years.
The story is pretty flattering for Madden San Miguel and his family. It also re-frames the narrative around him a bit.
It’s early, but San Miguel is a standout on his eighth-grade football team in Texas, grew four inches in the last year and has begun to get attention from schools like Georgia and Oklahoma State.
📰 More Youth Sports News Clips
Maclean’s — a Canadian magazine comparable to The Atlantic in the U.S. — dropped a long read on the industry in the Great White North, titled “The Trouble With Kids’ Sports.” It hits many of the same beats you’d expect — costs, parental pressures, streaming services, bad behavior, vertical integration, etc.
The New York Post has discovered the industry. The newspaper recently published an “exclusive” report on unruly behavior from youth sports parents and a column about the upcoming Kim Kardashian-helmed “Team Moms: Baseball” reality show.
ESPN also examined issues surrounding the abuse of soccer officials this week while The Philadelphia Inquirer dug into “the third rail” of high school sports — recruiting.
💼 Youth Sports Transactions Wire
Steven Smiegocki is Babe Ruth League's new national baseball commissioner.
He spent over a decade at MLB, most recently serving as its senior manager for baseball and softball development. Smiegocki also worked for Babe Ruth earlier in his career.
🔗 Youth Sports Links
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