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:
🚙 Uber Partners With US Sports Camps
Another major brand has entered the space.
Uber has been named USSC’s official rideshare partner for the upcoming summer season — the tech platform’s first youth sports activation across North America.
USSC is the nation’s largest sports camp network and has been licensed to run Nike Sports Camps for over 30 years.
Uber Teen, Uber Eats offers available to all families with registered USSC campers
Initiative runs May through August
Branding, on-site activations at over 20 camps in U.S., Canada
Uber Teen allows kids ages 13-17 to request rides and order food with parental supervision and safety features like trip tracking and drivers who have passed a multi-step screening process.
The partnership will include USSC camps in major metropolitan areas — Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Toronto and Washington, D.C.
We mentioned coordinated rideshare services with background checks as a potential growth area in our The Sports Parent Economy report, which is available to premium community members.
Transportation has since begun to be cited as a participation barrier more frequently.
Project Play’s recent report on youth soccer in New York City and northern New Jersey dedicated a significant amount of time to the issue.
The situation in that region is also exacerbated by field inventory, but the point remains. So it’s not surprising that the Uber/USSC partnership will have a heavy presence in major metros.
The transportation angle is also another plus for the argument NFHS recently made about school sports — your practices are (for the most part) right after classes end and you get to take what my favorite high school history teacher affectionately called “the big yellow taxi” everywhere else.
🤝 You don’t have to go it alone*
AI.
Those two vowels are everywhere these days, including in youth sports. But operators do not have to navigate the excitement, fear, and exhaustion — or try to understand what all these LinkedIn word salad posts mean — alone.
Robin will work together with your organization to co-develop solutions and tackle challenges as a team, creating authentic, cohesive experiences for athletes and families.
We are a global brand and digital product studio that knows the industry. We've worked in youth sports since day one across capital, equipment, facilities, tech and training, including as a licensed service provider with MLB for its youth and tech initiatives.
We also know AI, and see that the most important piece is being lost in all this discussion.
Nothing requires more thoughtful human effort than developing kids. Using AI as a blunt instrument strips an organization of its essential humanity. Orgs need to be intentional and precise. But if done the right way, tech can address real issues at all scales and sizes while allowing people to be more present and thoughtful when working with young athletes.
Robin can help.
*Sponsor
👥 Buying Sandlot Premium Community: One Group Of Operators Is Acquiring
The Raise: Intel On Why Operators Need Capital — May, 2026
We surveyed four major operator groups - clubs, facility, tournament, and training - and one of them is searching for acquisition targets, while the remaining three are raising capital or looking to get acquired.
Which is it? Premium members get access to the full report (The Raise: Intel On Why Operators Need Capital — May, 2026), which is now based on more than 130 in-depth survey responses from operators doing as much as $25M in annual revenue. Unlock the full report.
Investment Opportunities
We already have 3 investment opportunities available to community members:
150-acre youth-sports destination in the upper Midwest
Northeast baseball complex — $20M Phase 1 equity raise
Latest entrant: Top-ranked youth flag-football program in a major Northeast metro — full sale
Exploring a sale of the leading recreational NFL Flag program in their region — three locations across affluent suburbs, nationally ranked age-group teams, and a track record of more than doubling enrollment and revenue since 2023. Roughly $350K in revenue at ~43% margins, north of $150K in owner earnings, and a business light enough to run part-time. An independent third-party valuation pegs it at $450K–$500K, a touch under 1.5x revenue. Request an introduction in our premium community.
As a reminder, the Buying Sandlot community offers:
Peer Networking
Investment Opportunities
Data and Reports
Join the community based on which most closely defines your role in youth sports:
Operator includes: Clubs, Leagues, Tournaments, Facilities, Scholastic, Community, and Non-Profit. Service Provider includes: Tech platforms , Software , Insurance, Compliance, Founders , Service Providers, Data and Analytics. Investor includes: Investors, Private Equity, Family Offices, Investment Bankers, Advisors , NGBs and Professional Services.
Independently-owned operators gain access at no cost and can apply simply by filling out our operator intake survey.
🌎 Rematch Looks To Go Global
The sports highlights platform said it has raised $3.5M to accelerate its international expansion.
Rematch — which allows users to rewind action filmed through its app — is based in France. The platform launched in Europe in 2017 and launched its U.S. business led by CEO Hanna Howard in 2024.
Over 1B “fully organic” views worldwide
$1.2M in annual revenue
Partnerships include LOVB, Nike, Spokane Hoopfest
Rematch said it will also use the new round to strengthen its AI and product teams; the company said it is working on “developing scalable technologies that enhance video creation, content identification, automated editing, personalization and distribution across sports communities.”
I just wanted to call out how Rematch positioned itself with the announcement, because it goes well beyond its unique rewind tech.
The press release defined the company as a “community-powered media infrastructure for grassroots sports,” with a mention of how there is “an enormous volume of untapped and unstructured content” among hundreds of millions of athletes worldwide.
And investor Thierry Daupin — who is also Rematch’s global chief revenue and partner officer and the chairman of Rematch U.S. — said on LinkedIn that "we are proving that grassroots sport is not a small market. It is one of the largest untapped media ecosystems in the world."
Rematch is embracing being a media company — something a lot of other big players in the industry are not. Obviously adoption and scale are the hard parts, but it will be interesting to see if platforms that take the media approach like Rematch have a leg up in tapping into those markets.
🧢 BPG Sports Teams With Playfly Sports
The Delaware-based sports management firm said Playfly will lead sponsorship and naming rights sales for its facilities and club lacrosse and soccer teams.
BPG said it is a three-year deal and that “Playfly’s consulting arm conducted a thorough valuation of BPG’s properties and assets, the first of its kind in youth sports, which will help to drive increased and sustained revenue.”
BPG owns and operates the Chase Fieldhouse — which hosts the Delaware Blue Coats, the 76ers’ G-League affiliate — and Kirkwood Sports Complex. It also has a management agreement with DE Turf and recently got a 15-year operations lease on the Sports at the Beach complex; its website also mentions an indoor track venue in the works.
BPG is connected by Buccini Pollin Group, a real estate company, and BPGS Construction; it also has ties to MLS' Philadelphia Union.
⚽️ Hey, The World Cup Is Finally Here!
Mexico kicks the tournament off tomorrow afternoon against South Africa at Estadio Azteca; the U.S. will have its opener on Friday in Los Angeles against Paraguay.
There has been so much talk about what the World Cup can and will mean to American soccer and American youth soccer, both short- and long-term.
How the USMNT fares will define success, or lack thereof, for many in the moment.
But one leader in the space — Metropolitan Oval sporting director Jeffrey Saunders — said there is one facet of the next month that should not be emphasized as much.
“We have another opportunity, another spotlight on soccer in this country now. My personal feeling is we should be less concerned or worried about the results of the U.S. National Team,” he told Buying Sandlot. “The World Cup should be a different conversation. It should be about what is the structural integrity of youth soccer in this country.”
Saunders said the recent moves by U.S. Soccer — the Pathways Strategy, shared services with U.S. Club Soccer, now the reported integration with U.S. Youth Soccer — “are the things we should really be looking at.”
“The conversations I would like to have are about how we ensure soccer in this country is accessible, it’s well-structured, it’s governed properly and it has high-level [impact]. We’re not there yet as a country.”
🎰 Facilities Arms Race Update: Reno Is On The Board
The Nevada city hosted its first downtown youth soccer tournament last weekend as it pushes to become a sports tourism destination.
Casino resort operator Jacobs Entertainment has pledge to build a dozen rectangular fields — estimated to cost $1M each — in an effort to draw more visitors,
Jacobs has also helped launch a city amateur sports organization.
The first tournament had about 40 teams and 450 athletes.
🧱More Youth Sports Facilities News
Canton, Ohio: A long-awaited indoor waterpark is set to open next year, bringing an entertainment venue to complement Unrivaled’s ForeverLawn Sports Complex and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It will cost at least $117M.
Holdrege, Nebraska: The small city — about three hours from Omaha — opened a $3.7M baseball and softball complex. It will host local and regional tournaments.
Lubbock, Texas: The 60K-square-foot Forge Athletic Complex is expected to open next year. It will have six basketball courts/nine volleyball courts and be able to host regional events.
Savannah, Georgia: Youth sports parents are pushing to turn a mall into a complex to address facility and field shortages in the area. But the concept does not appear to be in serious consideration due to existing retail tenants.
Southlake, Texas: The Metroplex city will invest a little over $8M into a complex that hosts major flag football and 7-on-7 tournaments as well as collegiate and high school events.
Tacoma, Washington: A faith-based youth sports organization bought a defunct private school’s campus for $6.4M. It will be used as a hub for Reality Sports Foundation’s teams and training.
🤦♂️ Parents Behaving Badly
Glen Allen, Virginia: A coach has been banned from a major indoor complex in the Richmond area after a brawl at a tournament last weekend. The incident was sparked by a dispute between the coach and an official; at least one other official was involved. An official and a kid both suffered minor injuries.
Ohio Township, Pennsylvania: A Pittsburgh-area woman accused of assaulting a 16-year-old hockey ref is expected to avoid a criminal conviction. The woman will reportedly enter a diversionary program for first-time offenders; she will be on probation and required to complete community service and counseling. She was previously banned from the rink where the incident happened.
🔗 Youth Sports Links
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