This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
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In the email today:
🎥 TeamSnap ONE Adds 4K Stream Capabilities
The youth sports management platform is making another move to capitalize on what CEO Peter Frintzilas believes is a $10B youth sports streaming market.
TeamSnap will add live streaming capabilities to its TeamSnap ONE app through a new partnership with XBotGo, an AI-powered camera provider that offers 4K video.
Users will still be able to stream using iPhones and other cameras. But the tie-up with XBotGo and its Falcon camera will allow camera control, live video and one-tap highlights for consumers looking for a higher-quality product — with all new features integrated into the app.
TeamSnap’s registration and roster data will automatically sync with the camera, which has AI physical tracking— this means true 4K footage as the camera pans rather than just crops to follow the ball or the player.
“We believe that optionality is absolutely core,” Frintzilas told Buying Sandlot. “We are building TeamSnap One under that moniker of one platform, everything's integrated. We didn't want to introduce multiple solutions here.”
The Falcon and a tripod retail for $800. XBotGo founder David Tan said all tech exists on the camera and only one is needed to access all features. XBotGo also expects to lower its prices over time, Tan said.
We got an early look at the Falcon in January:
Frintzilas said TeamSnap’s core focus remains the long-tail of participation with ages 4-14. TeamSnap is rolling out TeamSnap ONE to organizations based on seasonality and competitive downtimes.
“We don't want to make the switch mid-season,” Frintzilas said. “It's not going to be great experience for the organizations. It's not going to be great experience for the parents.”
The full interview with Pete and David will post today.
It’s becoming clear to me that a winning middle-ground exists in the Streaming Wars™, at least when it comes to hardware: prosumer-grade cameras that are better than a standalone iPhone but a fraction of the cost of top-of-market fixed installs and AI tracking systems.
David explained to me the balance between quality and costs:
“If we want to achieve high performance, we can easily just add up Qualcomm's chipset or Nvidia’s chipset, but that's going to dramatically increase the cost. And on the other hand, if we continuously use some low-end AI chipset, that's going to limit the product performance. We are trying a very subtle balance or trade off between cost and performance.”
Significant demand exists for video highlights at the bottom of the pyramid, where the most cutting edge tech probably isn’t necessary for most use-cases.
Ergo, TeamSnap and XbotGo aren’t alone here. GameChanger has struck partnerships with everyone from Pixellot (higher end) to GoPro (consumer level). BallerTV is super bullish on its BallerCam— which up-levels your iPhone with a zoom lens, fan, and AI panning. And then you have Trace and Veo.
But since the real challenge may be adoption, it’s these hardware + platform partnerships that have the best shot of succeeding by educating the long-tail of leagues, clubs, and parents as to what’s available.
📋 The right solution for youth sports operators*
Youth sports management needs differ. But Playbook365 reduces administrative burden for all players in the space -- clubs and travel teams, facilities, leagues and tournament platforms.
The automated and unified sports management system is built specifically for operators:
Registration
Scheduling
Payments
Housing
Reporting
Playbook365 -- which consists of Playbook (registration & ops) and Staybook (housing) -- increases revenue opportunities for operators while improving the participant experience.
Housing is integrated while optimizing fees and monetizing transactions. Participant experience is improved with streamline registration and booking, allowing families to focus on competition rather than logistics with a couple clicks of a button.
The end-user experience has never been smoother. Coaches can register multiple teams and parents have flexible payment options. The ease of access and seamless experience is why Playbook365 retains highly-satisfied customers.
Operators have control and visibility; centralized data and reporting provides transparency across events and programs, making it easier to scale without increasing overhead.
Playbook365 also delivers best-in-class support:
Personalized onboarding
Training
Ongoing guidance
Users work with seasoned youth sports operators who are pros at helping organizations run more efficiently, increase revenue and elevate the experience for families, partners and teams on and off the field.
*Sponsor
🏛️ Youth Sports Go To Washington
One of the more compelling panels from the Summit — a discussion on how Capitol Hill views the industry — is now available for all subscribers. It is one of only two panels we’re making publicly available on YouTube. All other panels are available to premium members and event attendees only.
“Washington is no longer on the sideline. It is very much writing the playbook,” said Stephen Weyler, the senior director of Invariant, a federal lobbying firm.
“Youth sports are on the menu. And once Washington gets involved and sinks its teeth into an issue, it’s not going to let go.”
“Youth sports are not a local issue anymore, they are a national one. And I think the biggest risk is they’re also not a policy conversation, they’re a political conversation.
We can debate amongst ourselves what are the policy solutions that would fix the problems that we have in the industry. But the political side of the equation — for the next 6-7 months of your life you are going to be inundated with political commercials. And every commercial, Republican or Democrat, you’re going to hear, “affordability, affordability, affordability.”
And that will not stay at the gas pump or the grocery store. Politicians are going to look at all opportunities to talk about affordability. One of the things on the menu is youth sports. They have connectivity to it. They may be grandparents and their children or grandchildren have connectivity to it. And they’re seeing and hearing about it.”
Weyler said the Justice Department’s recent decision to launch an antitrust probe into the NFL’s TV deals is proof there are no longer any “sacred cows” in Washington.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA) have both hinted at antitrust action in recent weeks while criticizing the cost of youth sports.
Katherine Van Dyck, a former FTC attorney during the Biden Administration and a senior legal fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project, has also been forceful about using antitrust law to curb private equity’s presence in youth sports.
“We all know there are problems. It’s easy to recognize and point out problems. But how can you be solutions-oriented?” Weyler said.
“If you’re not proactively engaging and telling your story in a way that members or staff are hearing from you, the perception will take a life on its own.”
Weyler and former MLB player Matt LaPorta — now a partner with True Up Capital Advisors — also discussed IMG’s #AddMoreAthletes campaign, NIL, federal involvement in college sports, bringing costs down and more.
⚾️ Curve Sports Expands Roster
Power Baseball — a national travel baseball platform with locations in affiliates in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions — has joined the super club rollout led by CEO Sandy Ogg and backed by Weatherford Capital.
Power is based in central Florida; its teams mostly play at events there and in surrounding states. It also has Bolts Baseball, a more regionalized travel program, under its umbrella.
Power was previously part of Diamond Allegiance — a network of club baseball programs that merged with Curve Test Centers to form the new platform.
Curve Sports is acquiring its member clubs while maintaining local leadership and culture.
🧱 Facilities Arms Race: Motor City Edition
JLL Capital Markets — a global commercial real estate advisor — announced it it will be the "exclusive financial intermediary" for the holding company behind Motown Sports Village, a proposed $3B (!!!) multi-purpose destination next to Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Michigan.
452 total acres
1.15M-square-foot youth sports complex
Arena with 9K to 11K seats
12 basketball/volleyball courts
4 ice sheets with indoor soccer use
Indoor running track
Outdoor football, soccer fields
96-tee golf center
Family entertainment — arcade, bowling, IMAX theater, rock climbing
450K-square-foot indoor water and surf park
3 hotels with combined 2K rooms
JLL said the initial phase will be “sourcing $40 million to $50 million in predevelopment and land financing."
FWIW: Developer Kenneth Bardwell — the CEO of Motown Sports Group Holdings — has reportedly tried to get complexes off the ground without success for over a decade. And the city of Romulus rejected a proposed tax hike to fund the complex, arguing most of the pitch would violate state law.
💻 PrepStar Partners With AI Startup
The collegiate recruiting platform has partnered with rAIcruited, which recently exited stealth mode.
The startup says its “nuanced matching engines” allow athletes to connect with college programs based on academic profile, athletic data, position and fit.
A waitlist for rAIcruited is now open. The first sport to launch will be water polo — founder and tech executive Jordan Thompson won two national titles as an athlete at USC and also competed for Team USA. Football will follow with other sports to come.
PrepStar said it has helped over 75K athletes play college sports in its history.
🔗 Youth Sports Links
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