🥎 Major Youth Sports Complex Hits Market

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

Great post by LeagueApps CEO Brian Litvack on LinkedIn this morning, calling out some thought leaders in the space— I (Kyle) am honored that we’re included (and enjoyed the dig at the many folks outsourcing their thoughts on the industry to a chatbot):

The best part: You can hear from Zach, Tony, Zoya, and LeagueApps - along with many others - at the Buying Sandlot Summit in April. We’ve just released the first 9 sessions and a portion of the agenda on the event website.

We have over 165+ confirmed attendees, an unbelievable stable of sponsors (announcements soon), and a top-notch evening networking event complete with food, fun, and drinks. Ticket prices increase at the end of the month, so if you plan on attending, now is the time.

Get your tickets right here.

As they say, #seeyouinphilly…

Let’s get to it.

A fascinating standoff has escalated further.

ICYMI in November: The nonprofit Iowa Youth Athletics Foundation opened the $40M Kettlestone Youth Sports Complex in Waukee last year -- the state’s largest youth sports facility at over 140K-square-feet with 12 basketball courts and 18 volleyball courts.

Dallas County then ruled the venue was not tax-exempt — even though IYAF is considered a public charity by the IRS and has two tax-exempt facilities an hour away in Ames.

IYAF filed a lawsuit, claiming it cannot afford the tax bill and would be forced to sell the complex to a for-profit buyer if the decision was not reversed.

Back to today: The complex is now on the market, according to The Des Moines Register. No price has been set. A jury trial on the lawsuit is scheduled to begin in April and a judge has blocked tax collection for now, but IYAF has indicated it would sell immediately if a buyer materializes.

IYAF said a new owner would likely be more focused on running a business than serving the community. And that argument could cut through given the stakes — Kettlestone sits inside a proposed $350M multi-use district with a projected annual local economic impact of $125M.

Youth hockey does not exist without ice rinks.

Black Bear Sports Group is ensuring the venues that house them remain reliable and viable in communities for years to come.

BBSG, founded by lifelong hockey enthusiasts in 2015, is committed to keeping local rinks safe, stable and well-maintained through long-term, ongoing investment that fosters the sport’s growth.

BBSG has invested over $20 million in the last two years across its network of 45 owned-and-operated rinks in 12 states.

Take Printscape Arena in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania — BBSG invested $2 million, including a new chiller and floor system and concrete demolition/replacement. The venue’s capital improvements are expected to last as many as 25 years. Or Bolton Ice Palace in Connecticut — BBSG reinvested $1 million into a floor system replacement with an expected lifespan of 20 years.

BBSG’s youth hockey participation has grown at a rate more than three times the national average because of this simple yet impactful approach that provides consistent, reliable ice access for families.

Learn more

*Sponsor

We have some movement on the Savannah Bananas' youth sports front.

The Bananas will be hosting eight two-day camps in Savannah this summer and a four-day Banana Ball U-Savannah Experience from July 29 through August 1.

The experience ($525 per kid) is listed as sold out with a waitlist; the camps are $200 a head. Those are also listed as sold out, but it is unclear if registration has even opened yet.

Both the camp and Banana Ball U are marketed as full-on Banana Ball and not traditional baseball with some bells and whistles.

The Bananas held a similar multi-day event last year and have done smaller clinic-like events in the past, so these are not completely new offerings. But they are an indicator of where founder Jesse Cole and his team are headed.

Also: Disney has doubled up its previous broadcast partnership with the Bananas and will carry 25 games this year across its various platforms.

All games will stream on Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited with 16 over-the-air simulcasts — one on ABC, six on ESPN and nine on ESPN2.

There will also be Bananas-related content at Disneyland, Disney World and ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, to coincide with tour dates in town.

One intriguing thing that caught our eye: Four of the 25 games will not feature the Bananas, but rather a matchup between two of the other five teams in its league. That feels like an acid test to see how much juice an entire Banana Ball season would have as a media property.

The league is partnering with the RCX Sports Foundation to launch a college scholarship program for international women’s flag athletes.

The criteria resembles any other scholarship program — an essay and letter of recommendation, proof of high school graduation, ACT and SAT scores.

Recipients may also "be expected to participate in promotional activities or community events related to the program."

Applications are due April 15; the first recipient will be announced by May 15.

Back in November we mentioned the U.S. Mint would be releasing up to five youth sports-themed quarters from 2027-30.

We now have some designs after the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee met yesterday.

It was not immediately clear which designs would be recommended — the decision ultimately lies with the Treasury Secretary’s office — but the sports set to be honored next year are baseball, softball, soccer, golf and snowboarding.

The design portfolios can be viewed here.

A girls basketball assistant coach and her father were arrested after all hell broke loose at a second-grade game in a leafy Philadelphia suburb.

Cops in Lower Merion said the woman was using foul language during the game and she and her dad exchanged words with the opposing coach.

A postgame verbal altercation in the hallway then turned physical.

The woman is accused of grabbing the wife of the other team’s coach by the hair and taking her to the ground.

The dad allegedly punched the coach after he tried to break up that fight.

Both victims suffered injuries; their 3-year-old daughter was also reportedly hurt. The woman also allegedly tried to kick the coach in the groin.

PN has deployed some of the $30M in investment it received last year to acquire C2C, a national middle school basketball coverage and events platform.

It is PN’s first-ever acquisition and comes after it partnered with Maple Park Capital Partners for its first outside raise.

PN — which Buying Sandlot has partnered with in the past — said it has "plans for dozens of new showcases and tournaments in the coming year as a result of the combination."

ESPN published a report on what the executive director of Texas’ high school football coaches association called a “crisis” — the proliferation of middlemen getting involved in, and enriching themselves from, college and youth NIL deals.

The so-called “street agents” usually lack agent certification and are rarely attorneys, but critics allege they prey on athletes and families and demand significant cuts of any deals — sometimes 10x what an NBA or NFL agent’s commission would be.

Coaches told ESPN that “high school athletes are more at risk of being exploited than college athletes because they lack the support and structure of a university compliance office, and they are sometimes the only student at their school weighing an offer, with no points of comparison.”

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Good game.