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Youth Sports Was 2025’s Breakout M&A Theme. Here’s What’s Next
Today’s guest columnist is Chris Russo, CEO of Fifth Generation Sports.
In the world of sports mergers and acquisitions, 2025 was the year of youth sports. What had long been a fragmented, passion-driven corner of the sports economy became one of the most active segments for investors and strategic acquirers.
Numerous acquisitions closed across software, events, media and facility operations. Many private equity firms, some of which had never made sports-related investments, “discovered” youth sports as a scalable, high growth opportunity.
The result was a surge of deal volume, valuations and heightened competition for quality assets. But the youth sports boom was not a one-year anomaly. It’s become one of the hottest M&A categories, driven by structural factors that continue to reshape the industry:
1. Scale of the market
Youth sports is now a $40+ billion economic engine, including registration fees, equipment and uniforms, travel and lodging, and lessons and instruction, among other expenditures charted by the Aspen Institute. These products and services are targeted to approximately 27 million kids aged 6-17 who play organized sports in the U.S. The sheer size of this total addressable market (TAM) makes it an attractive sector for acquirers.
2. Extreme fragmentation across verticals
Youth sports remains extraordinarily fragmented with thousands of independent clubs, hundreds of regional tournament operators, dozens of niche software or video-analysis providers, and event companies with highly localized or sports specific reach. But beyond simple fragmentation, many of these operators are historically “mom and pop” run without standardized operations or scalable infrastructure. For private equity, this represents a double opportunity, for roll-up synergies (shared services, procurement, marketing, cross-selling, branding) and professionalization upside (opportunity to enhance margins and performance once modern systems and management discipline are introduced). Buyers recognize that even modest consolidation may create meaningful value when replicated across dozens or hundreds of locations or events.
3. Parent spending and the emergence of NIL
Youth sports spending has long been resilient as families prioritize team fees, tournament travel, private coaching and club participation over many other expenses. But in recent years, the rise of NIL has raised the stakes and accelerated this trend, helping to drive a 46% increase in average family spending on each child’s primary sport since 2019, according to the Aspen Institute. The ability for college athletes to earn name, image and likeness (NIL) income has fundamentally changed the psychology of many parents. While only a small percentage of athletes will ever play in college, a much larger percentage of families believe they might, or at minimum, believe their child has a shot at scholarship or NIL-related opportunities. This belief system—whether realistic or aspirational—has driven even greater investment in club teams and travel tournaments, showcases, personal training, recruiting platforms and video analysis.
4. Development of new products and services
The past five years have seen an explosion in new monetizable products and services that have expanded the youth-sports wallet. COVID accelerated video streaming, enabling live event subscription, remote instruction and enhanced digital recruiting. Technology and AI are now transforming performance and training, including AI-driven highlights, player tracking, advanced analytics and data aggregation, and biometric tools. These tech and software innovations have also created new recurring-revenue business models that may scale more efficiently than clubs or facilities. Some investors see this as a structural tailwind that will last for years.
5. Entrance of respected investors and buyers
Perhaps the most important accelerant in 2025 was the entry of highly credible investors—PE firms, family offices, pro-team owners and sports-focused funds—who validated the category. This process had actually begun a few years earlier in 2022 when KKR invested in PlayOn. Then in 2024 and 2025, Josh Harris and David Blitzer—owners of the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils and other pro sports properties—publicly and aggressively entered youth sports through the creation of Unrivaled Sports.
The Harris Blitzer initiative was featured in a widely circulated New York Times article published in July, a watershed moment for the industry. The piece validated youth sports as a legitimate, investable asset class, signaled that major sports owners were now committed to the sector, and inspired a wave of new entrants (family offices, PE and institutional capital).
As the youth sports investment wave matures, investors and operators will be focused on three defining questions:
1. Are there enough scaled assets?
The biggest constraint in youth sports has always been a lack of scaled properties to sustain deal momentum. Many clubs, events and platforms are sub-$5M EBITDA businesses, and a question remains as to whether there are enough $5M+ EBITDA assets to keep institutional buyers active.
2. Will robust valuations continue?
2025 saw elevated multiples for top-tier assets, driven in part by competition from first-time PE entrants. The sustainability of valuations in 2026 may hinge on supply/demand imbalances for quality companies, platform performance and integration success of recently completed deals, and overall economic factors (e.g. interest rate trends and the cost of debt).
3. Which sectors will attract the most investment and buyer interest?
Several youth sports verticals appear best positioned for 2026 activity, including facilities, events, video streaming and software products, especially for performance and training. However, there is also the possibility that other categories (e.g., e-commerce or traditional categories such as equipment and apparel) could emerge as high growth opportunities over the next 12 months.
This much is clear. The youth sports boom of 2025 was not a temporary spike—it was the formal institutionalization of an asset class long overlooked. Structural drivers remain intact, respected investors are now committed, and an emerging ecosystem of scaled operators is taking shape. The next year will test whether the sector can keep pace, but many indicators suggest youth sports could remain one of the most dynamic and investable categories within the sports economy for years to come.
Chris Russo is CEO of Fifth Generation Sports, a boutique advisory firm focused on middle market sports transactions. He advised SportsRecruits and Big Teams on the deals listed above. Previously, Russo served as a managing director at Houlihan Lokey, and before his tenure in investment banking, he managed the NFL’s digital media group. Russo holds a B.A. from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
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Super Bowl 60: Santa Clara youth soccer league displaced as NFL plans to take over park for operations center
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KGO) — Starting Jan. 5, the NFL will be setting up its Super Bowl media center, halftime show production and other operations at the Youth Soccer Park right next to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
This means hundreds of youth soccer players will have to find somewhere else to play.
The Santa Clara Youth Soccer League has 1,500 players. We spoke with Board Member Steve Robertson.
“There’s a great deal of anxiety. Do we have alternative field space? Because even though there are grass fields in the city of Santa Clara, there a very few with lights,” Robertson said.
The Santa Clara Youth Soccer League is hustling to figure out solutions. On Wednesday night, a parent rented out a tower light to see how well it does.
MORE: Countdown begins for Super Bowl as big economic, cultural boost expected in Bay Area
“We’re scrambling right now, to be honest, without a concrete plan in place as to how the city or other constituents can help us,” Robertson said.
The Youth Soccer Park has two grass fields and one turf field. The NFL plans to use this space from Jan. 5 to Feb. 22, but those in the soccer community are concerned it will take more time than that.
The soccer league says issues arose with the last Super Bowl at Levi’s in 2016.
“It takes a number of weeks to figure out the best way to return the field to normal condition. So in the last go around, the field was trashed candidly,” Robertson said.
In a statement to ABC7, Parks and Recreation Director Damon Sparacino said the agreement requires the NFL to repair any damaged fields.
MORE: South Bay leaders say they will protect against ICE during Super Bowl as immigrant fears persist
The NFL has also pledged financial contributions and help with finding alternate soccer fields.
Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor just hopes there’s no damage to the turf field.
“This is the big rub, because if they have to replace that synthetic turf field, that will take six to nine months if we’re lucky,” Gillmor said.
She said soccer is the most popular sport in the city.
“I want to make sure if there’s damage, it’s repaired, the fields are returned expeditiously, because I also want to have events at the Youth Soccer Park leading up to World Cup in June,” Gillmor said.
MORE: NFL, Bay Area Host Committee announce venues for Super Bowl 60 events
Before Super Bowl 50, the Santa Clara Youth Soccer League sued the NFL over use of the fields on short notice.
This year, the city said talks with the youth soccer groups and the NFL started back in August.
Robertson said with large scale events, things happen in the 11th hour. He hopes they can take this opportunity to build lasting partnerships.
“We just want to make sure that the kids are not forgotten in the process, that’s all,” Robertson said.
Copyright © 2025 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Dec. 22, 2025, 4:10 a.m. CT
- A Louisiana Senator’s office is now involved to help navigate the bureaucratic delays stalling the demolition of Bayou Towers.
- The demolition is caught between four entities: FEMA, HUD, the local parish government, and the housing authority.
- While HUD approved the demolition, FEMA has not yet completed its assessment to determine if the building’s damage exceeds 50% of its value.
- Recent incidents of falling debris have raised community concerns about the building being a potential health hazard.
Officials say a Louisiana Senator has stepped in to help navigate delays in the demolition of Bayou Towers.
Houma-Terrebonne Housing Authority Director Nikita Gilton updated the commissioners Dec. 17 on the status of Bayou Towers at the first meeting since pieces of the structure began falling Dec. 5. According to Gilton, workers had to secure floors 8 through 11 and remove the awnings. With that work complete, the building once again remains in limbo, but Gilton said elected officials are stepping in to help them out.
“State Rep. Jessica Domangue reached out to us and put us in touch with Sen. Bill Cassidy’s Office,” Gilton said. “After I spoke with the chair and our attorney, I signed a waiver to let Mr. Cassidy’s office speak to FEMA on our behalf.”
Asked about the discussions, Cassidy’s office declined to comment on the matter.
The fate of the building rests between four entities: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Housing and Urban Development, Terrebonne Parish Government and the Houma-Terrebonne Housing Authority. The money for the building came from HUD for the Housing Authority to purchase the structure. The Housing Authority must get approval from HUD before taking any action.
The Terrebonne Parish Government placed 911 emergency equipment on the roof of Bayou Towers in December 2006. Sulzer Group Senior Project Manager James McDaniel told the Terrebonne Parish Council, Jan 28, that removal of the equipment was important and a plan from the parish to move along with the FEMA process. Sulzer Group is contracted to be the go-between for the housing authority and FEMA.
Demolition of Bayou Towers was approved in February 2024 by Housing and Urban Development, but FEMA has not completed its assessment of the building. FEMA decides whether to repair or demolish a building on a 50% analysis. If the damage exceeds 50% of the building’s value, FEMA it is demolished and rebuilt to current building standards.
The Housing Authority received a pay out from its insurance company for Bayou Towers, but will not disclose the exact amount. Officials with the Housing Authority say they signed non-disclosure agreements in the settlement process. The Housing authority is hoping to receive the remainder from FEMA, who determines the total value it will provide victims and subtracts from that amount the difference paid out by insurance companies.
Speaking with The Houma Courier on Dec. 6 following the panel shattering across Scott Lane, the community surrounding Bayou Towers said they were concerned that the building has become a health hazard. Other members showed up to the Terrebonne Parish Council Meeting asking that the Council take action to see the building get taken down.
Stephanie Yowell is an environmental scientist with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. She said if the building has asbestos in it there’s the potential that it could go airborne. She said the threat is low, but without conducting an air quality test there’s no way to know.
“Unless the building itself is crumbling actively and pieces are falling all the time, the concern is low,” she said.
If the surrounding community is concerned, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Environmental Project Coordinator Cindy LaFosse said residents could call (225) 219- 3640 and DEQ could look into it.
According to Attorney Brandon DeCuir, who represents the Houma-Terrebonne Housing Authority, the building poses no threat to the surrounding community, unless they go inside.
“It is not a health hazard right now. It is not a health hazard as it stands, especially with it being walled off to anybody and any occupants… but if somebody went in there they could have an issue,” DeCuir said. “The reason it’s walled off, and the reason why people are not let in is because, not the caustic material that you are looking for, but because of the structure’s issues… You can’t go through that building safely.”
Updated Dec. 22, 2025, 6:45 a.m. ET
The high school sports winter season on the Cape and Islands, not only brings a change in the weather, but also to the teams. The roster changes with new players, but also to the coaching staff.
Coaching a team of high school athletes for the first time is not an easy task to take on. It could be a match made in heaven, or it could have growing pains the first year.
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Effects of learning, exercise, and game curriculum model on the physical fitness of preschool children aged 3–6: a cluster-randomized controlled trial
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On December 13, 2025 the DTR Youth Cheerleading Teams and their Coaches Lavender Barrois, Barbara Gomillion and Shelby Barthelemy hosted the 1st Annual Youth Sports Banquet. This event was held for all the football teams from 7-8, 9-10, 11-12 and their families. These groups of kids have worked hard on and off the field all season and are well deserving of this achievement. During the event, ea…
LOS ANGELES — In Leimert Park, coffee is not just fueling a community, but helping prepare young people for life as entrepreneurs.
Tony Jolly, owner of Ora Café in Leimert Park, wanted to pay it forward and give someone else the same opportunity to own a business.
So around the corner from his shop, Jolly started something called the Crenshaw Coffee Cart.
The cart gives underserved youth, between 16 and 20 years old, and some who were previously incarcerated, the training and experience needed to not just be employable, but one day a business owner themselves.
Click the arrow above to watch the video.
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