This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
Let’s get to it.
In the email today:
🧱 A Messy Story In California
Fresno officials took possession of a youth sports facility last week after the court-ordered eviction of its non-profit operator.
The Central Valley Community Sports Foundation had run the city-owned Granite Park Sports Complex for over a decade. But the relationship fell apart amid allegations of financial irregularities, unpaid bills and broken agreements.
Immediate changes include opening the complex to the public when games are not being played, allowing outside water bottles and new fee structures.
The city eventually accused CVCSF of breaching the lease by failing to share revenue from a digital billboard on the property, not carrying proper insurance, skipping required park improvements and falling behind on rent and utilities — including roughly $200,000 in unpaid electricity and water bills.
The developer has filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court, as well as other pending legal actions. He claims investments into the facility should count as rent and the city actually owes him $500K; he also said the city’s FY27 budget to operate the venue is only half of what is needed.
Quick Take: Our operator survey found that, overwhelmingly, facility operators’ most pressing need and biggest growth constraint is capital. A need that is not limited to for-profit operators.
📆 EventConnect Exists To End Tournament Chaos— For Organizers And Families*
Tournament weekends have become mini supply chains: teams register, rosters change, schedules shift, hotels fill, and parents scramble.
Too many events still run things on spreadsheets, portals, and last-minute calls.
What we do (and why it’s different):
Centralize the weekend workflow: registration, rostering, payments, lodging, and real-time reporting.
Organizers can run end-to-end on EventConnect or integrate the systems they already use— no rip-and-replace required.
Either way, the data lands in one place so operators aren’t stitching together reports from multiple tools.
The “moment that changes outcomes”:
HousingConnect embeds hotel booking directly into checkout— capturing rooms at peak intent instead of sending families to a separate portal later.
Results can be up to 30% more room-night reservations and 24% savings on team hotel costs.
Proof of scale:
EventConnect powers 5,000 events and connects 30,000 hotels across 800 destinations.
Learn more about how EventConnect can help power your tournament right here.
*Sponsor
⚾️ MLB Team’s Tech Development Initiative
The Atlanta Braves have partnered with Ember Sports — a mobile sports tech firm — to expand access to digital training tools.
Ember's platform will be integrated into Braves Country Baseball and Softball -- the team-led network of community leagues, organizations and programs.
Swing analysis, tracks pitching mechanics and movements
Phone-based app; no wearable sensors, etc.
Real-time feedback and insights
$12.99 monthly subscription fee
Activations at BCBS events
Quick Take: These types of tools are typically presented as performance-focused, but a lot of big league clubs are investing in them for potential injury-prevention uses — especially with pitchers. If that impact bears out, they could change the conversation surrounding overuse.
🎸 Facilities Arms Race Update: Music City Mega-Complex
The developers behind a proposed 233-acre mega-complex outside of Nashville provided some new details during a recent public meeting.
Most notably: Plans call for the city of Franklin and Williamson County to build a $40M ice venue for The Banks at Brownland. The facility would then be leased to the NHL’s Nashville Predators; the team would operate the facility and cover its expenses.
The Preds are one of three pro teams involved in the project along with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans and MLS’ Nashville FC.
100K-square-foot hockey facility
11 football/lacrosse/soccer fields
Golf course, driving range
Permanent facility for local religious non-profit
Grocery store, restaurants
Fitness, medical offices
Brownland Farm — a decades-old equestrian center — would relocate its operations to make way for the project. Some land would also be acquired from a nearby church.
The bulk of the project site sits in a 100-year floodplain, but developers said they would design the layout so the golf course and outdoor fields took on water first. Infrastructure to reduce flood risks are also planned.
The proposed Brownland ice facility touches on a few youth hockey topics/trends:
1) It would be the fifth venue operated by the Predators in the Middle Tennessee region, sparking some concerns about the team having a monopoly on ice in the region.
2) This is one of the same issues at play with the Dallas Stars’ controversial-at-times presence in the Metroplex and Dallas. But the Stars own and operate most of the facilities they have a presence in; the Predators only operate through public-private partnerships.
3) All stakeholders — including Black Bear Sports Group — are pushing for more community and government investment into ice rinks as a path to broadening access and reducing costs. The book is out on these venues, and it’s pretty straightforward — the economics of ice facilities are extremely tough (and lead to high ice time fees, which drive costs up). If not private companies, the capital has to come from public sources — or professional teams.
4) There are a few NHL teams attached to groups of local rinks with varying ownership/operation structures. It will be interesting to see if more get involved and/or existing networks expand. The Utah Mammoth have already pledged up to $10M in funding for local rinks.
🏢 More Youth Sports Facilities News
Houston, Texas: The NBA’s Rockets funded extensive renovations for a local Boys and Girls Club, including a new gym, an e-sports lounge, a technical center and other improvements.
Las Vegas, Nevada: A complex is closed indefinitely after suffering over $250K in fire damage. Officials believe the blaze may have been started by illegal fireworks set off on the facility’s roof.
Lincoln, Nebraska: The Cornhusker State’s surprising dearth of tournament venues has become more pronounced, as a 77K-square-foot facility will be overhauled to become a pickleball-focused venue. Only two basketball/volleyball courts will remain after renovations.
Pittsburg, Kansas: An eight-field baseball/softball complex will be overhauled, including new turf, thanks to a private donation and a $2M fundraising campaign. The project would also expand football/soccer opportunities. Pittsburg is about two hours away from the Kansas City and Tulsa metro areas. Quick Take: The Pittsburg State Gorillas have the most underrated team name in college sports.
📚 Canadian Schools Official Causes Sports Furor
Ontario’s education minister has walked back his call for kids to stop skipping classes for competitions and tournaments.
The comments — made as the province launched new changes to combat chronic absenteeism in its schools — generated significant pushback from youth sports organizations, coaches, parents and educators.
But EM Paul Calandra has since clarified that while “education should be their priority,” sports-related excused absences that will not impact students’ academic standing. He also indicated elite-level competitors will have flexibility.
Youth hockey tournaments frequently start on Fridays in the region with some families using Thursdays to travel, according to The Toronto Star. One swim official estimated top-level competitors may miss 20-30 instruction days a year.
Somewhere, a sports academy operator is feverishly screenshotting this section and adding it to their marketing material.
🤦♂️ Parents Behaving Badly
Police in Tennessee arrested two men who allegedly stole equipment from a youth sports shed at an elementary school.
An ATV and a pitching machine were taken from Ketron Elementary School in Kingsport. Police ID’d the truck that left with the gear and found the ATV at the truck owner’s house; they then located the pitching machine at the other suspect’s home.
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Good game.