The Rise of Sports Facility Investment

If you grew up in the 90’s and 00’s, you probably just went to your local high school to kick a ball around, throw the football, play tennis or baseball. And you probably participated on your local "town" team.

But more and more formerly public spaces are locked under gate, key, camera and security guard, the risk of liability now outweighing the good feelings upside of public access. In addition, travel and showcase teams have sucked up lions share of competitive participation away from town teams, bringing a different set of requirements for playing surface availability. Thus even as youth sports participation has stalled or even declined over the last decade, the demand for facilities and playing space has grown substantially, with the private sector rising to fill the void.

While youth sports tourism (now larger than professional spectator sports tourism) and the youth sports event business have driven the rise of large complexes, smaller facilities are also on the rise - whether it be futsal, pickleball, hockey, basketball, or lacrosse, the need for a quality, maintained, and well-lit space is always in demand. Like many other brick-and-mortar categories, it’s still competitive. But sports carries with it the reward of making a difference in kids’ lives – a passionate edge that keeps many small business owners and entrepreneurs involved.

On this blog we’ll look to describe and support the journey of the sports facility, from the smallest single court mom-and-pop up through the largest mega complex, examining the best practices in revenue generation, technology, marketing, management, and operations along the way. Our aim is to build a playbook on how to operate and grow sports clubs, facilities and complexes. Stay tuned for more.