INew York Empire Baseball and Shore Capital Partners have launched Relentlessly Inspiring Sports Experiences (RISE) Partners.
Shore is a Chicago-based private equity firm. NYEB has over 60 teams and 1K players participating annually in the Big Apple— it is known for its emphasis on culture and sports science-driven training methods. NYEB also operates The Arena, a two-story, high-tech indoor training facility in Manhattan.
NYEB CEO Jordan Baltimore will also serve as RISE’s CEO. He told Buying Sandlot the new platform plans to operate across 3-5 sports while also expanding the geographic footprint.
The growth strategy includes acquisitions and organic growth.
Baltimore said NYEB has been interested in expanding into other sports for some time, “but we always wanted to have the expertise to do it. We didn't just want to be a sports babysitting service. … We want to know the culture, the content, the coaching is shared across all sports.”
Baltimore and NYEB believe they have found the perfect partner to accomplish that in Shore.
“It was the first private equity company that came to us and said, ‘We want to invest in the culture and grow the culture of what you built,’ and didn’t look at the financial statements first,” he said.
“All of the current press is so focused on how private equity has the potential to ruin the industry, but our focus is how can you provide resources to something that is so special, but in need of resources.”
A trend is developing here between this deal and last week’s news with True Lacrosse and True Sports Group.
Established single-sport platform + unique development strategy + private capital = Launch new multi-sport venture
RISE and True Sports are not carbon copies of each other, but they share more similarities than differences. And proven philosophies — NYEB’s science-based methods, True Lacrosse’s emphasis on skill training — provide a blueprint of how to scale to new sports.
The critical factor for any single-sport platform that pursues multi-sport is going to be delivering the same experience and expertise. Baltimore’s point about “sports babysitting” is a good one — there likely is not much value in, say, an elite softball club renting gym space and rolling some basketballs out without providing the same benefits to families.
This trend could be an antidote for specialization, though, if done right — bringing an i9 Sports-esque ability to conveniently play several sports under the same umbrella to the club and travel world.
I’ll go even a step further than James— I think beyond seeing the rise of multi-sport youth super clubs (akin to Real Madrid expanding to basketball and women’s soccer), you’ll also see these clubs have tight affiliation with brand sponsors or even owners.
One more: This looks like it could be a potential franchise play similar to i9 or Youth Athletes United, but RISE is expanding through acquisition right now. As James mentioned, lots of investor interest in this club roll-up model— I spoke to graduating students at Wharton who are looking to do the same. You know a space is bubblish hot when people want to use that sweet Wharton MBA to… own a handful of U12 soccer and baseball clubs.
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