This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
We have a bit of a theme today— and it all revolves around BIG ADVERTISING’s desire to crack the youth and amateur sports nut… or youth sports’ desire to crack the BIG ADVERTISING nut.
From a facility in Chicago to Chuck Todd, everyone wants in on the action. But we’re not so sure everyone is on the right path.
Side note: We crossed 6,000 subscribers over the weekend. Our goal for the end of June had been 5,000. Lots of new stuff coming next week after this two-newsletter holiday week. I’m feeling feisty today. Let’s delve!
In the email today:
🏦 A Youth Sports Complex with $2.5M In Sponsorship Revenue Before It Opened
The Wintrust Sports Complex outside Chicago opened this weekend.
As we briefly mentioned last week, the 100-acre facility told SBJ that it’s already booked $2.5M in sponsorship revenue.
We’re told those other smaller deals, which also include Joey’s Red Hots, contribute to the total amount.
On one hand, impressive effort to book 7 figures in sponsorship revenue before a facility even opens.
On the other hand, these are up to 7-year deals, so the average per year comes in around $500k for a large facility outside a major city.
Meanwhile, you have people like David McMenomey who are looking to fund $120M facilities in Idaho largely through sponsorship and corporate naming rights.
📺 Chuck Todd Banks on Youth Sports Rights Saving Ad-Supported Journalism
The former Meet The Press moderator did another interview where he was asked about his belief that youth sports content could be the key to revitalizing local news nationally.
And he expanded on the idea this time.
The full Q+A feature with Poynter can be found here. The pertinent comments by Todd, which I (Kyle) find laughable:
“With the whole NIL thing that’s happening in college sports, you have the expansion of opportunities in sports to pay for college, so what’s that going to mean? We’re about to see an explosion in youth sports participation. I have a friend of mine whose kid is getting NIL money for beach volleyball… That is going to trickle down.”
“My vision is that the local news organization, they hold all the rights for all the youth sports. So if you can’t make it to your kid’s game, you’re watching the livestream on the local news site. They are your conduit.”
“I think if you can build a locally-sourced ad network that doesn’t feel like you’re just having some algorithms decide where your ad shows up, that there’s also opportunity there. But the basic premise is that local sports and youth sports, if you could get that audience, that’s the better audience. It’s a better glue for a community. The red families and the blue families all want to see their kids play. It’s a safe space for advertisers.”
Kyle’s Take:
Spoken like someone who doesn’t understand the youth sports ecosystem at all. The idea that local news organizations are the “conduit” to watching a livestream of your kid’s game is detached from 2025.
Sure, there might be a one-off media rights holder, but anyone reading this email knows that it runs through NFHS Network and the countless streaming video options at all levels, for all sports. No one needs go through the Podunk Town Press to access a LiveBarn feed of the Squirt AAA Quaker Select squad taking on the Wisconsin Beavers.
And while he’s directionally accurate on the growth of youth sports thanks in part to NIL and college payments (I am too! —> link), using it to support local news organizations across the country is a long shot.
I think the youth sports industry is also about to find out how difficult the advertising business really is, especially at a local level.
I’ve spent 15 years in local media in one form or another, and if there is one constant it’s that tapping into local advertising $ is extremely hard. It’ll be damn near impossible for a local newspaper to cover the fixed costs of adequately covering all of a town’s sporting events, never mind the fundamental misunderstanding of how live streams work. This is almost a non-starter.
Similarly, much like media ad networks, local facilities will need to tap into brand-level advertising spends to see meaningful sponsorship revenue (it’s no surprise that Wintrust, for example, cites numbers from Pepsi and Coors).
Advertisers will want to spread out the risk by working only with larger players, like Unrivaled, or agencies like Base Sports Group, rather than pony up big bucks to support any one location as if it’s an NFL stadium. The same point applies to Todd’s “locally-sourced ad network” to save journalism.
Speaking of larger entities…
🎥 Learfield Studios Launches NIL Content Days
This is college-related, but you can see how the concept could apply to the burgeoning high school NIL space.
[Related: LakePoint Sports Launches Youth NIL Program]
Designed to streamline NIL opportunities and reduce in-season demands on student-athletes, NIL Content Days will serve up to 350 athletes, capable of generating 750 pieces of original branded content across 27 schools.
…
NIL Content Day will feature up to five customized creation stations focused on sponsorship storytelling, equipping student-athletes with premium assets encompassing Learfield’s expansive enterprise, including multimedia rights, digital and social platforms, radio broadcast voiceovers, Paciolan’s ticketing, fundraising, and marketing ambassador program, and CLC’s licensed merchandise marketing.
Kyle’s Take:
Some on LinkedIn will run releases like these through ChatGPT Deep Research and spit out 3,500 words telling you why this is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Perhaps it is.
But, whether it’s Todd, LakePoint, or Learfield, there is a trend emerging here of trying to centralize creative efforts in a decentralized world, harkening to an old-world view where a trusted institution MUST HOLD THE KEYS.
The younger demographics these campaigns will target are wary of anything even resembling a conventional advertisement. Authenticity and true content-product-fit (again, Pottstown Scout!) are what sells and influences.
Something tells me sponsor junkets with plastic football field tablecloths like this don’t move the needle in any meaningful way, other than allowing brands to safely check a box and middlemen aggregators to profit:
photo: Learfield
The truth is, athlete sponsorship is a winner-take-most game at the pro level, let alone the college or high school level, where the benefits will accrue to just a handful of athletes:
I think NIL sponsorship deals being a forced stand-in for college athlete payments has made these spokesperson deals take on increased importance in the minds of many in the sports ecosystem.
Yes, the middlemen who can aggregate a 7-figure ad deal and dole out Benjamins to 10K athletes will win. And that of course is a great near-term business opportunity.
But I do wonder how successful brands will be with this “safe approach” of working with thousands of essentially micro influencers vs. finding 1 or 2 standout athletes with personality and a large following. That’s where influence happens.
💫 The More You Know: A Peek At The Sports Facilities Companies’ Pitch Notes
SFC posted a 14-slide deck — Introduction To Youth Sports Tourism — on LinkedIn late last week, calling it “a quick reference for city leaders, developers, and tourism professionals looking to make a real impact through sports.”
Per the deck…
Total market: $52.2B is spent annually on sports tourism— $30B of which is attributed to youth sports families.
$13.5B on transportation
$10.9B on lodging
$9.7B on food/beverage
$6.5B on retail
$4.7B on tournament operations
$6.9B on other
Economic impact: Sports complexes created about 758K jobs nationally in 2023. Over 60% of destinations said sports were their No. 1 hotel room night generator and destinations held 69 events on average in 2023, a 33% jump from 2021.
Measuring sticks: SFC laid out facility recommendations for complexes to serve as anchor venues and be tournament-friendly.
16 flat fields
12 baseball/softball diamonds
8 basketball courts, converting to 16 volleyball courts
200M, 6-lane indoor track
25M pool
Niche elements: Hydraulic tracks and pickleball courts are mentioned as among the popular specialty offerings many complexes are having success with.
🧱 Movement On Major Complex In Texas
The Buena Vista Sports Complex — a 200-acre multi-sport facility in Laredo — does not have an official open date yet.
But city officials have signaled the doors are close to opening.
Laredo approved a $500K budget amendment and the hiring of 18 full-time employees (plus part-time roles) to staff the complex, which began construction in 2022.
10 baseball and softball fields
Multi-use pods
Walking trails and parking
Future plans for additional courts and fields, plus an aquatic center and amphitheater
An interesting note: The city had a tentative operations deal with The Sports Facilities Companies, but that agreement was tabled. The complex will be managed by the city.
The first phase of the project — what will be operational when the complex opens — had a projected price tag of $42M.
The complex was funded by a sales tax.
🏢 Facilities News And Notes, Sports Legends Edition
Two all-time greats are involved in a pair of upcoming builds.
An ice sports complex in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, backed by Wayne Gretzky is expected to break ground this week after a funding snag was overcome. The $40M facility has been controversial in the community.
Shaquille O’Neal recently broke ground on a $24M multi-use facility in Las Vegas. He partnered with the Las Vegas Raiders and UFC on the facility, which will include a 54K-square-foot multi-sport field, an MMA and boxing center and 30K-square-feet of Boys and Girls Club clubhouse space.
👨💼 Insurance Is Becoming A Youth Sports Headache
Insurance Business Magazine recently wrote about the “critical reckoning” facing the youth sports industry.
The cliff notes: Organizations are doing more than ever to protect youth athletes and their families, implementing safeguards to protect against concussions, overuse injuries, mental health struggles and emotional, physical and sexual abuse, among other risks. But insurance liability towers are shrinking while costs and premiums for coverage skyrocket.
Many local- and regional-level groups used to get umbrella coverage through major bodies like U.S. Soccer as insurers looked to aggregate risk
But those national organizations have become lawsuit magnets, de-incentivizing insurers and leaving local orgs to fend for themselves
Bad behavior and violence among fans and parents has become a major insurance factor
Insurers are also adjusting for the growing professionalization of youth sports
New insurance avenues are still being created, like coverage to allow families to recoup registration and travel costs if an athlete cannot compete
🔗 Youth Sports Links
📋 Job Alert: Manager, Athlete & Program Development, U.S. National Development Program -- USGA
USGA is seeking an athlete and program development manager for its national golf development program. The position is based in Pinehurst, North Carolina, with a hybrid schedule and 12-15 weeks of travel per year.
The Manager, Athlete & Program Development will be an integral part of the U.S. National Development Program (USNDP) and its programs focusing on high-performance athlete development and curriculum, athlete grants, coach training, and parent education to further the mission of fostering future generations of American golf talent. This individual will collaborate with various USGA departments and golf industry partners to ensure that the USNDP has best in class athlete development programs, training, and resources for athletes, coaches, parents, and mentors.
The position will pay $75-$90K annually. A full job description can be found here.
If you’d like to list an open position here and reach 6,000+ youth sports professionals in a single email, email me.
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Good game.