This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
Takeaways and videos from the Buying Sandlot Summit are coming this week. Keep an eye on your inbox.
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In the email today:
⚾️ Perfect Game Expands Ties With EventConnect
Pictured, left to right: Eric Vardon (President, EventConnect), Nick Carroll (Co-Founder, Prep Network), John D’Orsay (CEO, EventConnect), Mark Dvoroznak (CEO, Base Sports Group), Rob Ponger (CEO, Perfect Game), photo credit Picture Pros
The youth baseball and softball developmental platform has extended its housing and tech partnership with the tournament and hotel management giant.
EventConnect will remain Perfect Game’s official housing tech bureau as part of the new multi-year deal.
The partnership supports PG’s nationwide calendar of elite events, integrating destinations, lodging, venues and event-related suppliers into a single ecosystem through EC’s free-to-use portal.
EC is a Buying Sandlot sponsor.
🧢 Unrivaled Sports Execs Talks Platform Vision
Pictured, left to right: Bloomberg’s Ira Boudway, SFC’s Ashley Whittaker, Unrivaled Sports’ Erin Clift and Rush Soccer’s Justin Miller spoke on the ‘From Local to Global’ panel at the Buying Sandlot Summit (Picture Pros)
The highlights from a new SBJ interview with Unrivaled CEO Andy Campion:
Campion said Unrivaled will focus on “truly elevating and expanding upon the destinations and experiences we’ve acquired” in 2026.
Only a quarter of the Rocker B Ranch campus is built out; Unrivaled plans to add fields and lodging and shift the Dallas-area site from baseball-specific programming to multi-sport programming
Campion said corporate sponsorships, concessions and lodging can offset participant costs
Unrivaled’s core focus will remain mass participation, rather than elite athletes and events
“I can say this definitively: Showcases and talent scouting and recruiting will be a very small part of our business, now and forever,” Campion said.
Unrivaled CMO Erin Clift expanded on the strategy as a member of the “From Local to Global” panel at the Summit.
“We are looking at expanding into leagues and operating other types of regional promoters so we can reach more kids in more places with different types of experiences,” she said.
Clift said the platform will continue to emphasize its Unrivaled Baseball Network because it can offer programming across the country and different skill levels and price points.
Unrivaled is also focused on experimentation and expanding girls sports — evidenced by its big push in flag football. The platform recently announced the Unrivaled Flag Academy, a series of single-registration camp-style events at locations nationwide.
“We can do more, we all can do more,” Clift said when asked about the rising cost of youth sports. “I am thrilled that this conversation is happening. It’s fair, it’s relevant and I think it will push me, push our company, push all of us to get more organized and take more inputs. … If we can create more opportunities to unlock the magic in youth sports for more kids, that’s a good thing.”
Quick Take: Rocker B Ranch is being positioned as Unrivaled’s main hub. It will host the new Unrivaled Flag Academy’s national event. It is also where the strategic investment by Dick’s Sporting Goods has manifested most so far — GameChanger has outfitted the complex with multi-angle broadcast capabilities.
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Tightens Its Belt
The gravy train may be over.
The Public Investment Fund appears to be getting out of the sports game — or at least significantly paring back.
A new five-year investment strategy makes no direct mention of sports and the PIF is pulling the plug on LIV Golf funding. It also sold 70% of one of the teams it controls in the country’s top men’s soccer league, and appears to be pulling back in tennis.
Some sports holdings and strategies — Premier League club Newcastle United, combat sports (boxing, MMA, pro wrestling) and Formula 1 — do not seem to be impacted as much by the pivot.
PIF and other Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund money is heavily present in the sports and sports tech space.
Last month, I wrote about Chamath Palihapitiya’s take that, in a world of AI disruption, capital could shift from riskier investments with long-term horizons to shorter-term investments with predictable cash flows. I viewed this as yet another macro tailwind for investment in the participation layer of youth sports (clear demand, predictable cash flows)— and perhaps even the tech layer, since most youth sports tech use-cases are practical and essential, not theoretical.
The PIF pulling back on sports is unrelated to Chamath’s thesis, but it’s yet another macro shift with the same outcome that could provide a tailwind for youth sports investment: capital pulling away from investments with long-term horizons and undefinable returns.
The PIF, specifically, is focusing on more practical local concerns, including impacts of the war on its economy (though this was reportedly in the works prior to the start of it). That shows the limits of even the largest patient capital. Like, even the PIF, with all its desire to use sport to boost its global image, needs to see some return on its investment. Meanwhile, the PIF and other Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) directly or indirectly invest in sports and sports tech opportunities. If the PIF can no longer stomach these investments, what does it say about the durability of other Gulf capital, and what does that mean for high-flying sports startups that have, thus far, benefitted, at least indirectly, from this giant pool?
Ergo, I think the folks telling you “it’s a great time to invest in sports!” may be missing the nuance that not all sports investment is the same. Suddenly, those undefinable “fan engagement” platforms or fringe league plays will feel less “great” if the investment community as a whole prioritizes short-term cash flows.
Youth sports, on the other hand, becomes even more desirable for people wanting to invest in sports - especially at the participation layer - because demand is consistent and cash flows are more predictable.
💼 Roster Moves At i9 Sports
Ron Shimek is the youth sports franchise platform’s new president.
Shimek was most recently the president of the Mr. Handyman home improvement and remodeling chain— he has significant franchise organization experience. Shimek "will lead [i9's] strategic direction, with a focus on scaling operations and ensuring consistency across the system.”
Jeremy Oliver was also named i9’s vice president of operations. Oliver has previous stops at Orangetheory, F45 Training and Perspire Sauna Studio.
I9 is owned by parent company Youth Enrichment Brands, which also has US Sports Camps, School of Rock and SafeSplash + Partner Swim Schools under its umbrella.
I9 says it has over 5M registrations nationwide. It had over 170 locations last year.
🎥 SportEngine Adding AI Features With Pixellot
The youth sports management and streaming platform will start offering automated player highlight reels and other video automation through its partnership with the AI-powered camera firm.
Pixellot also has similar deals with GameChanger and PlayOn.
The features will be rolled out in a pilot program with Puma’s NXTPro and Pro 16 elite hoops circuits, according to SBJ.
Remember: NXTPro and Pro 16 has launched a strategic partnership with Hudl, including game film and player clips. But SportsEngine will retain live streaming rights through at least 2030.
🧱 Facilities Arms Race: Betting on Bed Taxes
A town in New York state wants to institute a hotel occupancy tax that would have significant youth sports impacts.
Amherst — near Buffalo — will ask the state to sign off on a 2.5% bed tax. A quarter of the new tax revenue would go toward youth sports facility repairs and renovations in town. Officials believe the tax will generate millions each year.
But Amherst has also hosted over 70 sporting events in the last few years. The town is home to Northtown Center — an ice facility — and is the proposed location for an $80M indoor-outdoor complex that will include a 120-room hotel.
Some critics have expressed concern the bed tax could negatively impact sports tourism and other businesses.
The new 716 Sports Complex is expected to begin construction this year. Projections say it will bring 1M visitors to the town each year and generate millions in economic impact.
Quick Take: We’ve seen hotel occupancy taxes and similar tools used to fund youth sports complex builds. But trying to create them on top of already established or planned tournament traffic is a new move. Amherst officials said they would roll back the tax if it depresses economic impact.
🏢 More Youth Sports Facilities News
Big Bend, Milwaukee: A planning commission has recommended a conditional-use permit for the initial phase of a controversial youth sports venue in the Milwaukee suburb. The Breck Athletic Complex would require agricultural and residential lands to be rezoned; the project will cost between $175M and $225M.
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma: Voters vetoed a 0.5% sales tax hike designed to generate funding for $46M in upgrades for several youth sports complexes. But a $42M multi-purpose community center was approved.
San Francisco: MLB’s Giants have pledged $28M toward a $50M plan to overhaul a rundown city park into a youth sports complex. The baseball and softball fields at the site would be renamed the Willie Mays Fields of Champions. The proposal has met community pushback since it would require removing 120 mature trees.
Williamsport, Pennsylvania: The $22M Williamsport Lumber Yards complex has opened. The 28-acre venue has seven baseball/softball fields, concessions and dining areas.
🤦♂️ Parents Behaving Badly
Inwood, West Virginia: Three people were arrested after a parking lot altercation outside a youth basketball tournament. Two women who had fought earlier in the day resumed their dispute; a man then pulled a gun out of his car (while still taping the incident with his phone) during the second fracas.
Wesley Chapel, Florida: A recreational hockey operator is accused of stealing over $263K in league-related funds from dozens of victims, instead spending the money on online gambling, credit card bills and mortgage payments. The platform also failed to pay rent at its facility; that venue then launched its own league to salvage the season for families.
🔗 Youth Sports Links
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