The billionaire team owners' roll-up strategy in youth sports has attracted capital from Chernin Group, DICK'S Sporting Goods, Dynasty Equity, and LionTree, validating the thesis that fragmented youth sports assets can be consolidated into a scaled platform.
Unrivaled Sports announced a $120 million funding round in May 2025, led by DICK'S Sporting Goods with participation from Dynasty Equity, LionTree, Miller Sports & Entertainment, and existing investor The Chernin Group. The investment caps a rapid 18-month buildout by co-founders Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who have assembled a portfolio of youth sports destinations and programming now reaching over 600,000 athletes and nearly 2 million family members annually across 30 states.
The trajectory from initial acquisitions to institutional backing offers a case study in how sophisticated investors are approaching youth sports consolidation.
The Roll-Up Thesis
Harris and Blitzer began acquiring youth sports assets in 2022, starting with Cooperstown All Star Village for $116 million. The iconic youth baseball destination provided a proof point: destination tournament facilities with strong brand recognition could generate meaningful revenue and attract families willing to travel and spend.
Subsequent acquisitions followed the same playbook. A majority stake in Ripken Baseball brought Cal Ripken Jr.'s brand equity and East Coast tournament infrastructure. A deal with Olympic snowboarder Shaun White added action sports camp brand We Are Camp at a reported $10 million valuation. A $10 million majority investment in the ForeverLawn Sports Complex at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio established a foothold in football.
By March 2024, Harris and Blitzer had enough scale to formalize the structure. They launched Unrivaled Sports as the parent company and brought in The Chernin Group as a strategic investor. Andy Campion, former COO of Nike and a longtime Disney executive, joined as Chairman.
Campion noted at the time that the valuation TCG paid exceeded the cost basis of the underlying acquisitions—a function of "high growth and profitability" once the assets were consolidated. The markup validated the premise that combining fragmented youth sports properties under unified management could create value beyond the sum of parts.
Flag Football as Growth Vector
Two months after the TCG investment, Unrivaled made its most strategically significant acquisition: Under the Lights, the second-largest youth flag football operator in the U.S.
Under the Lights operates 170 local leagues with 35,000 participants across 27 states. OneTeam Partners, which acquired the business in 2021, retained a stake and committed to exploring programming partnerships leveraging its NFL Players Association relationships.
The timing aligned with structural tailwinds. Flag football will debut as an Olympic sport at LA28. Youth participation has grown meaningfully—the number of "core" players (ages 6-17 playing 26+ times annually) increased nearly 15% over three years. Girls' participation jumped 63% between 2019 and 2023, reaching nearly half a million players.
Campion, who sits on the LA28 Board of Directors, framed the opportunity explicitly: "With flag football's inclusion at LA28, we have a unique opportunity to shape the future of the sport at the youth level over the next four years and beyond."
The Canton connection matters strategically. Unrivaled's ForeverLawn Sports Complex at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Village positions the company to establish what EVP Amanda Shank called "the epicenter for flag football"—a destination facility with institutional legitimacy in the sport's spiritual home.
The DICK'S Investment
The May 2025 round brought in a lead investor with direct strategic interest in youth sports participation.
DICK'S Sporting Goods generates revenue when kids play sports. More participants means more equipment, apparel, and footwear sales. The retailer has invested heavily in youth sports infrastructure through its Sports Matter initiative and facility partnerships. A stake in Unrivaled aligns corporate strategy with capital deployment.
The investment thesis extends beyond retail synergies. Unrivaled committed to expanding amenities across properties including lodging, food and beverage, and retail—creating revenue streams that capture more wallet share from traveling families. DICK'S presence as an investor likely accelerates retail integration across Unrivaled's 30-state footprint.
Dynasty Equity and LionTree bring additional credibility. Dynasty, co-founded by Jonathan Nelson and K. Don Cornwell, focuses on differentiated sports assets. LionTree has advised on some of the largest transactions in sports and media. Their participation signals institutional confidence in Unrivaled's platform value.
Capital Deployment Priorities
Unrivaled outlined three priorities for the new capital:
Geographic and programming expansion. The company will "acquire, build and diversify destinations and programming" to reach more athletes. The baseball business remains East Coast-centric despite drawing 28% of Cooperstown teams from California—suggesting West Coast expansion is on the roadmap. International markets may follow.
Experience elevation. Investments in fields, facilities, officiating quality, and athlete services. Cooperstown All Star Village is expanding bunk lodging and upgrading fields. Flagship properties including Rocker B Ranch in Texas and Diamond Nation in New Jersey are getting turf upgrades. Big League Dreams locations in Las Vegas and Manteca, California received "multi-million dollar" renovations.
Amenity infrastructure. Lodging, food and beverage, and retail build-out across properties. This shifts the business model toward capturing more of the total trip spend rather than just tournament fees.
What This Signals for the Market
Unrivaled's fundraising trajectory validates several theses worth watching:
Youth sports destinations can be consolidated. The fragmented landscape of tournament facilities, travel programs, and local leagues can be rolled up under professional management with meaningful value creation. Harris and Blitzer proved the concept; institutional capital is now flowing to the model.
Strategic buyers are active. DICK'S leading a round—not a traditional PE firm—suggests corporates with youth sports exposure see ownership stakes as strategically valuable. Expect other retailers, apparel brands, and media companies to evaluate similar positions.
Flag football is attracting capital. Olympic inclusion and participation growth have made the sport a priority for investors seeking exposure to emerging categories. Unrivaled's Under the Lights acquisition and Canton positioning reflect a bet that flag football infrastructure is underbuilt relative to demand.
Founder credibility matters. Harris and Blitzer bring relationships, capital access, and operational sophistication that pure financial sponsors may lack. Their ownership stakes across professional sports (76ers, Devils, Commanders, Crystal Palace, and others) provide strategic connectivity. As Blitzer noted at a Sportico event: when asked where he'd invest $500 million in sports, "I'm totally bullish on youth sports."
