Dick’s Sporting Goods Is Making a Big Investment in Youth Sports
Dick’s Sporting Goods is expanding its efforts to create sports experiences for young athletes everywhere.
The sporting goods retailer led a $120 million round investment in Unrivaled Sports, a leader in the U.S. in youth sports experiences. Dick’s minority stake was from DSG Ventures, the retailer’s corporate venture capital fund.
Other investors in the round include Dynasty Equity, LionTree, Miller Sports & Entertainment, and existing investor The Chernin Group. Unrivaled was cofounded by private equity magnates David Blitzer and Josh Harris last year. The two hold a majority stake in the company.
“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,” Unrivaled’s chairman and CEO Andy Campion said. Campion was a long-time Disney executive and a former chief operating officer of Nike Inc.
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The retailer’s vice president of strategy and corporate development Michael Stack said Unrivaled Sports share with Dick’s the “core belief” that sports have the power to change lives. “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,” Stack said. “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.”
Unrivaled’s ecosystem includes a portfolio of sports destinations that include Cooperstown All Star Village, Ripken Baseball Experiences, Rocker B Ranch, and Diamond Nation, to name a few.
It plans to leverage the new partnership and investments to expand access to more young athletes and their families across the country, elevate the experiences and increasing amenities across Unrivaled Sports properties.
The company plans to achieve these goals by further acquiring, building and diversifying destinations and programming, upgrading the playing fields and athlete experiences that include services that support the athlete and their fans, and adding amenities such as lodging, food and beverage and retail to better serve fans attendees and foster community.
In the past year, Unrivaled has build a national footprint across 30 states that can host over 600,000 young athletes and nearly 2 million family members and fans. It has also increased the capacity at its owned properties, including expansion of bunk lodging in the Players Village and an upgrade of the fields at Cooperstown All Star Village to increase the weekly team participation.
It has also re-turfed and built new fields across other facilities, as well as invested in a multi-million dollar renovation of several West Coast properties. The company also grew participation in flag football by over 30 percent in 2024, and it is committed to growing sports participation for underserved young athletes. Its Ripken Baseball programs include hosting free clinics nationwide and providing scholarships and free tournament access to young athletes and teams in underserved communities across the country.
