Youth Sports Facilities Are Now Anchoring Billion-Dollar Real Estate Developments

Key Takeaways

• The U.S. sports facilities market is valued at $36 billion today and is forecast to reach more than $260 billion by 2034, implying annual growth exceeding 20 percent
• The Dynasty in Ocoee, Florida, carries a capital stack approaching $1 billion across 155 acres with 17 fields, 1,100 hotel rooms, and up to 500,000 square feet of retail space
• Mesa’s Legacy Park project, anchored by Arizona Athletic Grounds, is entitled for 2,500 apartments, a 600-room hotel, 3.4 million square feet of office space, and 300,000 square feet of retail across 200 acres
• Spectator sports tourism generated $47.1 billion in direct spending in 2024 and a total economic impact of $114.4 billion, with more than 109 million non-local attendees
• Youth sports specialization has driven demand for year-round facilities, with the average number of sports per child dropping from two in 2019 to 1.6 in 2023

via: Travis Barrington – Propmodo

Youth sports facilities have moved beyond the edge-of-town field complex. Developers and cities are now treating tournament venues as anchors for mixed-use districts that include hotels, apartments, office campuses, and retail, creating what amounts to full neighborhoods organized around amateur athletics.

The economics behind the shift are substantial. Sports ETA research indicates youth and amateur sports generate more than $50 billion in direct spending annually. When combined with the broader spectator sports tourism market, which produced $47.1 billion in direct spending in 2024, the visitor volume and spending patterns now support real estate projects at scales typically reserved for downtown office towers or regional malls.

Florida Project Reaches $1 Billion Scale

Montierre Development is advancing The Dynasty in Ocoee, Florida, a privately funded complex on roughly 155 to 159 acres west of Orlando. The project includes 17 multi-sport fields, approximately 1,100 hotel rooms, multiple structured parking garages, and between 350,000 and 500,000 square feet of retail, dining, and entertainment space, plus a riverwalk along the site.

The capital stack approaches $1 billion. Construction is projected to support around 9,800 jobs, with roughly 5,000 permanent positions once operational. The estimated annual economic impact is $540 million.

Central Florida already hosts the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney and the Boombah Sports Complex. The Dynasty represents an evolution from those earlier tournament-focused venues toward a full mixed-use district where sports are the organizing principle but not the only use.

Mesa Development Positions Sports Complex as Traffic Generator

In Mesa, Arizona, the Arizona Athletic Grounds (formerly Legacy Sports Park) operates as a regional tournament destination on the city’s southeast edge. The facility draws millions of visitors annually across dozens of fields, courts, and indoor venues.

Directly across the street, developer Vestar and landowner Pacific Proving LLC are planning Legacy Park, a 200-acre, multibillion-dollar mixed-use project. At full buildout, Legacy Park is entitled for 2,500 multifamily units, a 600-key resort hotel, about 3.4 million square feet of midrise office and corporate campus space, and 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurants. The plan includes more than 20 acres of programmed open space organized around a central lake.

The sports complex is not an amenity added to an existing development plan. It is the original traffic generator that provides the mixed-use project with a built-in customer base of traveling families, college programs, and regional tournaments.

Hamilton Shows Adaptive Reuse Model

Spooky Nook Sports at Champion Mill in Hamilton, Ohio, demonstrates another version of sports-anchored development through adaptive reuse. The city partnered with a developer to convert a historic paper mill along the Great Miami River into what is described as the largest indoor sports complex in North America. The project includes a 200-room hotel, convention space, restaurants, a microbrewery, and medical offices within the adaptive reuse framework.

Since opening, the complex has contributed to a broader downtown resurgence. Hamilton’s budget documents and local coverage describe new small businesses in the urban core, riverfront public spaces, and nearby multifamily projects such as Rossville Flats with street-level retail. The tens of thousands of visiting athletes and families each season have provided customer traffic that supports additional commercial activity in the surrounding area.

Specialization Patterns Support Concentrated Facilities

The development model is supported by shifts in youth sports participation. Research from the Aspen Institute and the Sports & Fitness Industry Association shows youth participation in organized sports has stabilized after pandemic lows, but kids are playing fewer sports and specializing earlier. The average number of sports per child dropped from about two in 2019 to around 1.6 in 2023.

That specialization has produced year-round club calendars, which favor destinations that can host multiple tournaments simultaneously across several sports. Facilities with reliable weather, quality infrastructure, and sufficient nearby hotel inventory can generate consistent shoulder-season demand that traditional seasonal field complexes cannot match.

Public-Private Structures Address Capital Requirements

The development economics remain complex despite compelling visitor numbers. A single tournament weekend might fill thousands of room nights and generate meaningful restaurant, retail, and fuel spending, but the underlying real estate requires significant upfront capital. Sports facilities carry high costs for land acquisition, design, and construction, along with long payback periods.

Most ambitious youth sports districts involve some combination of municipal land contribution, tourism improvement districts, tax-sharing agreements, and revenue participation structures. The Dynasty in Ocoee includes a development agreement where the city assembled a large portion of the site and negotiated road improvements, dedicated parking revenues, and a per-key hotel fee flowing back to the municipality.

In Hamilton, the Champion Mill project sits within a broader riverfront strategy that includes new trails, public art, and infill housing. The city views the complex as a long-term tax base and placemaking asset rather than a single facility transaction.

Strategic Implications for Developers and Municipalities

For developers and municipalities evaluating youth sports facilities, the opportunity extends beyond weekend tourism bumps. When a sports campus can reliably generate multi-day stays, repeat annual visitation, and demand during typically slow periods, it begins to support the fundamentals of a real neighborhood. That includes hotels, restaurants, service retail, and eventually housing for workers seeking proximity to employment centers.

The approach carries execution risk. Traffic impacts and neighborhood opposition can delay or reduce project scope. Overreliance on a single operator or sport leaves developments exposed to shifts in league calendars or club preferences. Secondary uses need consideration early in planning. Can a fieldhouse accommodate concerts? Can tournament housing convert to extended-stay formats in the offseason? Can parking structures support future EV charging or partial conversion to other uses?

The U.S. sports facilities market is forecast to scale from $36 billion today to more than $260 billion by 2034. The most significant projects in that growth may not be standalone mega-arenas but places where youth and amateur sports are integrated into full mixed-use environments. Cities and developers increasingly treat youth sports not as occasional programming but as durable, programmatic anchors comparable to how hospitals, universities, and professional arenas have historically organized mixed-use districts.

photo: Icon Architecture

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