Dick’s Sporting Goods has led a $120 million investment round in Unrivaled Sports, which creates positive sports experiences for young athletes. The investment has bought Dick’s a minority stake in the growing company, which has facilities across 30 states that have hosted a total of 600,000 young athletes and 2 million family members and fans.
“Dick’s Sporting Goods’ mission-driven approach to youth sports has been at the center of their ecosystem, from their early days as a small family business to their growth into the nation’s leading sports goods retailer to the grants they provide to youth programs through the Sports Matter initiative, and now, their partnership with us at Unrivaled Sports,” said Andy Campion, Chairman and CEO of Unrivaled Sports in a statement.
Unrivaled Sports’ destinations and programming include Cooperstown All Star Village, Ripken Baseball Experience and Diamond Nation. Additionally, Unrivaled Sports will use part of the investment to grow its Under the Lights flag football league by increasing participation, which grew by 30% last year alone, for both girls and boys. Unrivaled Sports hosted the Youth Flag World Championship that featured 715 teams, including 220+ girls’ teams and 100+ international teams. National flag football events planned for this summer include the Unrivaled Flag High School Girls Nationals and the NFL Flag Championship at the company’s ForeverLawn Complex in Canton, Ohio.
Unrivaled Sports plans to leverage the funding and new partnership with Dick’s to expand access to young athletes and their families by acquiring, building and diversifying additional sports destinations and programming; elevating experiences with investments in fields of play, programming and athlete experiences, such as quality officiating; and adding lodging, food and beverage amenities across its properties.
Advertisement
“Unrivaled Sports shares our core belief that sports have the power to change lives, and the impact they’ve made in just one year has been incredibly impressive,” said Michael Stack, VP of Strategy and Corporate Development at Dick’s in a statement. “We are fully aligned to their vision for transforming youth sports for the better by investing in the fields, spaces and events where memories are made, friendships are formed and life lessons are instilled.”
Investors joining Dick’s for this funding round included new entrants Dynasty Equity, LionTree and Miller Sports & Entertainment and existing investor The Chernin Group.
