Sports organizations are putting strategic money into the software that runs local recreation, and the latest check came on October 28, when WISE Ventures, the investment arm of the Wilf family, backed Rec Technologies. The Wilfs own the Minnesota Vikings, Orlando City SC, the Orlando Pride, and the real estate developers Garden Homes and Garden Commercial. Rec sells local recreation departments the tools to run youth sports, summer camps, facility reservations, memberships, and permitting. Neither side disclosed the amount.
The more telling detail is where WISE says the software goes first, which is the family's mixed-use developments. Pair that with a customer base that is almost entirely public, and in our read the investment is a bet on who runs the booking for shared community space, with youth sports as one use among several.
The Family's Developments Come Before Its Teams
WISE Principal Konrad von Moltke told Sports Business Journal (SBJ) that "the easiest and most natural place for this to plug in is the various mixed-use developments that the family is operating around Orlando and around the Vikings." Youth camps and affiliated youth programs tied to the teams came second in his telling, as "definitely an angle" for the longer term. Rec's own announcement says the two plan to explore bringing its software to multifamily communities where residents share gyms, pools, and tennis courts. Nothing has been signed or launched there yet.
Still, the fit is easy to see. A park district and an apartment complex share the same problem at different sizes, with more people wanting a fixed set of courts than there are open hours to give them. In our read, software built for court rentals and enrollment at public agencies likely needs little rework to run an amenity floor. Von Moltke put it more broadly, calling Rec "a way to power spaces and a much broader market than first meets the eye."
A Public Customer Base Is Drawing Private Strategic Money
Rec was founded in 2022 by Birju Kadakia, its CEO, and Rachel Williams, its president, who met as early employees at Uber. Williams told SBJ in August that 90% of Rec's enterprise clients are public organizations, and that the company earns revenue by licensing its software to park and facility operators plus transaction fees. Rec says it now works with more than 100 park districts and private facilities across 30 states, including Bloomington, Minnesota; Indianapolis; and the Schaumburg Park District in Illinois.
According to Sports Business Journal, Rec has raised more than $20 million to date, including an $11 million Series A in 2025 led by Crosslink Capital, with Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman's Thirty Five Ventures, Joe Montana's Liquid 2 Ventures, the Chicago Cubs' Marquee Ventures, and Larry Fitzgerald Jr. in the round. USTA Ventures, the investment arm of the U.S. Tennis Association, invested in August on undisclosed terms. Williams described that check as part of an effort to take in "strategic capital that follows onto the Series A," and SBJ counts the WISE deal as another example.
Read together, the two follow-on checks come with introductions. USTA brings tennis, the sport Williams says Rec's roots are in, while WISE brings teams and real estate in Minnesota and Orlando. SBJ reported that the near-term focus for WISE is connecting Rec with potential new investors, which suggests the Wilf money is also meant to make the next round easier.
The Pitch Is Every Visit to a Local Park
By Rec's own count, more than 227 million people visit a local park or recreation facility each year. That's the case Rec makes for the size of its market. A family booking a swim lesson and a department handling thousands of registrations run through the same software, and Williams told SBJ the platform is sport-agnostic and could expand into broader facility or community program management.
The product is also moving. In September, Rec launched Seb, an AI teammate inside the platform that helps recreation staff analyze data, handle routine work, and communicate with residents. Williams framed the underlying problem plainly, telling SBJ that enabling more activity "is a people problem" of coordination. Bloomington Parks and Recreation is launching as a flagship partner in Minnesota, one of WISE's home markets, so the public side of the business is already growing in the Wilfs' backyard while the private side is still at the exploring stage.
The price of getting in stays private. Beyond the amount, neither company disclosed the stake or the valuation. Rec's announcement calls it a strategic investment, SBJ reported it as a minority investment, and von Moltke described it as "material" for both WISE and Rec. SBJ noted in August that USTA Ventures' investments are typically small minority stakes, so neither strategic check comes with a size on the record. The announcements also don't say whether WISE took a board seat or how much of Rec it now holds, and no multifamily pilot has a commercial contract on the record. Williams told SBJ that Rec will consider raising a Series B in 2027, depending on how fast the company and demand keep growing, though nothing is scheduled yet.
Takeaways for Investors
Strategic Investors Are Bringing Introductions With the Money
The USTA and WISE checks both follow the Series A. WISE says its near-term job is connecting Rec with new investors.
Private Amenities Would Be a Second Kind of Customer
Rec sells mostly to public organizations today. If the multifamily work moves past exploration, it adds a private buyer with its own budget and its own reasons to want booked courts and pools.
Team-Linked Youth Programs Sit Further Out
Von Moltke put youth camps and team-affiliated programs in the longer term. That sequencing puts the team-linked youth sports use behind real estate in WISE's plans for Rec.
Watch the 2027 Series B Decision
Williams tied a possible Series B to growth and demand. Whether the strategic investors put money into that round will show what this set of checks was for.
