Aaron Miller:

I get nostalgic reminiscing on my little league baseball days. I think about long summer days, team bus rides, early close friends, and… private equity.

Wait, private equity?

That’s right. In 2024, we’re seeing a boom of private equity investment into youth sports.

For the longest time, American youth sports programs were largely run as nonprofits and mom & pop businesses. But recently, investors spotted a massive market.

In the US, 30 million kids participate in youth sports and 34 million parents pay – making up a $28 billion total addressable market.

$28 billion: that’s larger than major entertainment sectors, like the box office ($10 billion), recorded music ($11 billion), and online sports betting ($14 billion).