Private equity is acquiring community sports infrastructure and converting free leagues into subscription services.
Wall Street Is Paywalling Your Kids’ Sports
Private equity-owned Black Bear Sports Group is buying up youth hockey — and icing out parents who want to record their kids’ games.
Luke Goldstein
The signal (what's happening)
- Private equity firms including KKR and TPG have invested billions in youth sports facility operators, who then convert previously accessible leagues into pay-to-play models
- Families now face costs ranging from $200 to $5,000+ per season for sports that were previously low-cost or free through schools and community programs
Signals a possible shift: from sport as accessible community infrastructure to sport as investor asset class
So what (why the AFLPA should care)
- If grassroots pathways shift from accessible community sport to pay-to-play models, does that narrow the talent pool and change who can afford to pursue professional careers?
- When private equity owns the infrastructure where future professionals are developed, who controls talent identification, data and pathway relationships?
- Could financial barriers at grassroots level change the demographic makeup and economic background of professional player cohorts over the next decade?
- If pathway access becomes a wealth filter, does that create new equity considerations for development programs and scholarship funding?
Source: Wall Street Is Paywalling Your Kids’ Sports (The Lever, Nov 18, 2025).
