Unrivaled Sports, a leader in youth sports experiences, announced a strategic investment by DICK’S Sporting Goods, which led the company’s latest funding round. The strategic funding will help fuel Unrivaled Sports’ mission, which is to create unrivaled sport experiences for young athletes everywhere, by continuing to deliver and expand experiences, programs, and destinations for young athletes across the nation.
Unrivaled Sports and DICK’S Sporting Goods coming together marks a major alignment of two organizations committed to creating experiences and environments that unlock the magic of youth sports and create lifelong memories for girls and boys of all ages and their families. The funding comes from DSG Ventures, the corporate venture capital fund of DICK’S.
Unrivaled Sports runs a growing portfolio of iconic youth sports destinations and programming such as Cooperstown All Star Village, Ripken Baseball Experiences, Rocker B Ranch, Diamond Nation, Unrivaled Flag, and Under the Lights Flag Football, and others.
Momentum
In the past year, Unrivaled Sports invested significantly in growing and elevating its experiences including:
1.) Building a national footprint across 30 states through acquisition, which is now hosting over 600,000 young athletes and nearly 2 million family members and fans.
2.) Enhancing capacity and experiences at owned properties, including:
3.) Expanding bunk lodging in the Players Village and upgrading fields at Cooperstown All Star Village to increase weekly team capacity, while also upgrading the design and amenities across the entire property. And Cooperstown All Star Village will set another consecutive record high in annual attendance in 2025.
4.) Re-turfing and building new fields across flagship properties and regional facilities such as Rocker B Ranch (TX), Diamond Nation (NJ), and more.
5.) Investing in a multi-million dollar renovation and enhancement of West Coast properties, Big League Dreams Las Vegas and Big League Dreams Manteca.
Youth Flag World Championship
Unrivaled Sports had hosted the Youth Flag World Championship at Disney which featured 715 teams, including 220 girls’ teams and 100+ international teams. And this summer, Unrivaled Sports will host two major national flag football events: the Unrivaled Flag High School Girls Nationals and the NFL Flag Championship at the Unrivaled Sports’ ForeverLawn Complex in Canton, Ohio.
What the funding will be used for: Unrivaled Sports will utilize this new partnership and investments to:
1.) Expand access to more young athletes and families across the country by further acquiring, building and diversifying destinations and programming that deliver unrivaled experiences to girls and boys of all ages.
2.) Elevate experiences by investing in upgrading the fields of play, programming and athlete experiences from quality officiating to facilities and services that support the athlete and their fans.
3.) Increase amenities across all Unrivaled Sports properties like lodging, food and beverage, and retail to better serve guests and foster community.
KEY QUOTES:
“DICK’S Sporting Goods has become the undisputed leader in serving young athletes as they gear up to play the sports they love. Their 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 sporting goods retailer to the grants they provide to youth programs through the Sports Matter initiative, and now, their partnership with us at Unrivaled Sports. We are thrilled to build the future of youth sports together with DICK’S Sporting Goods, and with the support of our other new strategic partners.”
Unrivaled Sports Chairman & CEO Andy Campion
“We’re incredibly excited to invest in and partner with Unrivaled Sports. They share 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. 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. We look forward to working together to create more sports experiences that build fun, excitement and community in the moment, and that have lasting impact over a lifetime.”
Michael Stack, Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at DICK’S Sporting Goods
