matt ross
Josh Harris and David Blitzer have been actively investing in youth sports facilities over the past two years. Now, the private equity giant and longtime sports team owner are consolidating those assets into a new parent company, Unrivaled Sports.
The creation of Unrivaled included an investment by Chernin Group (TCG) and the hiring of former Nike chief operating officer and longtime Disney executive Andy Campion to run the company. ing.
“Through Unrivaled Sports, we're not just investing in sports; we're investing in future generations by making sports more inclusive and accessible in communities across the country,” Harris said. said in a statement.
TCG was founded by experienced media executives Peter Chernin, Jesse Jacobs and Mike Kearns, and its portfolio focuses on sports, gaming, and health and wellness. Investments include Action Network, Barstool Sports, Cars & Bids, Oura, and Premier Lacrosse League.
Blitzer said the partnership with TCG and hiring Campion will allow Unrivaled to expand its infrastructure.
Campion did not comment on the terms of TCG's investment, but said the valuation was higher than the cost of recent youth sports acquisitions by Harris and Blitzer as a result of the business' high growth and profitability. Stated.
Their first investment was the $116 million purchase of the Cooperstown All-Star Village youth baseball facility in 2022, doubling their investment in baseball with a majority interest in Ripken Baseball. Other acquisitions include a deal with Olympian Shaun White for action sports brand We Are Camp, valued at $10 million, and Forever Lawn at Hall of Fame Village. It also includes entering youth football in December through a $10 million majority investment in a sports complex. Located in Canton, Ohio.
Each year, more than 550,000 athletes and 1.1 million participants visit the 12 facilities owned and operated by Unrivaled.
Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. said in an email: “The creation of Unrivaled Sports will help us improve our youth sports efforts and do even more to help kids play in a bigger league environment. “There will be opportunities for this,” he said.
Campion already has ties to Blitzer through minority interests in MLS's Real Salt Lake and NWSL's Utah Royals, with Blitzer serving as majority owner of both teams. Mr. Campion also serves on the boards of Starbucks, LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games, and Spring Hill, his company. He spent the past 17 years at Nike.
“There's an almost insatiable demand for youth sports experiences,” Campion said in a phone interview. “What exists today is only a fraction of the possibilities we have in mind.”
Campion sees promise across three dimensions: geography, sport and gender. He selected baseball, softball, soccer, and volleyball, soccer, and basketball as options to add to his current lineup of action sports.
The baseball business led by Wade Martin is centered on the East Coast, but teams come from all over the country, with 28% of the All-Star Village clubs participating from California. Campion said the West Coast could potentially support the facility, and they are also looking internationally.
He cited football as a “huge opportunity” for Unrivaled and a place where investment could “accelerate” in 2024. Flag football doesn't have the same widely accessible options that exist in baseball, like Cooperstown or Ripken.
An affiliated fund of BDT & MSD Partners provided debt financing to Unrivaled.
Harris and Blitzer are the founders of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center, and also has stakes in Joe Gibbs Racing and Elevate. The billionaires also jointly invested in Crystal Palace FC and the Washington Commanders, with Harris' group paying $6.05 billion for the team in 2023.
Blitzer owns stakes in teams in each of the five major U.S. sports leagues, several European soccer clubs, and Tiger Woods' TGL franchise. nevertheless, sporticoAsked at an “Invest in Sports'' event in October where he would put $500 million in sports today, Blitzer answered without hesitation, “I'm completely bullish on youth sports.''
