Unrivaled Sports Announces DICK'S Sporting Goods as New Strategic Investor in Growing and Elevating Youth Sports Experiences

Rhea-AI Summary

DICK'S Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) has led a $120M investment round in Unrivaled Sports, securing a minority stake in the youth sports experiences company. The investment, made through DSG Ventures, includes participation from Dynasty Equity, LionTree, Miller Sports & Entertainment, and existing investor The Chernin Group. Unrivaled Sports operates across 30 states, serving over 600,000 young athletes and nearly 2 million family members. The company's portfolio includes Cooperstown All Star Village, Ripken Baseball Experiences, and Under the Lights Flag Football. The strategic partnership aims to expand access to youth sports, enhance facilities, and increase amenities across properties. Notable achievements include 30% growth in flag football participation and significant facility upgrades across multiple locations. The investment will support Unrivaled Sports' mission to create exceptional sports experiences while maintaining its commitment to serving underserved communities through scholarships and free programs.

Positive

• Strategic investment of $120M led by DICK'S Sporting Goods, a major retail partner
• Significant market presence across 30 states, serving 600,000 young athletes
• Strong growth metrics with 30% increase in flag football participation
• Multiple revenue streams through diverse properties and programming
• Expansion of facilities and amenities showing operational growth

Negative

• None.

Insights

Financial Strategy Analyst

DICK'S $120M-led investment in Unrivaled Sports creates youth sports ecosystem integration, extending retail relationships while limiting financial exposure.

DICK'S Sporting Goods' strategic investment in Unrivaled Sports represents a calculated expansion of their youth sports ecosystem beyond traditional retail channels. By leading the $120M funding round through DSG Ventures (their corporate venture capital arm), DICK'S secures a minority stake in a company with extraordinary market reach - serving over 600,000 young athletes and nearly 2 million family members annually across 30 states.

This partnership creates a strategic flywheel effect. DICK'S gains privileged access to a captive audience of sports-engaged families at premium youth sports destinations including Cooperstown All Star Village, Ripken Baseball, and Under the Lights Flag Football. These properties create natural merchandising opportunities without DICK'S assuming full operational responsibility or risk.

The minority investment structure allows DICK'S to participate in the high-growth experiential sports sector while maintaining balance sheet flexibility. Co-investing alongside Dynasty Equity, LionTree, and Miller Sports & Entertainment suggests a sophisticated capital allocation approach that spreads risk while maintaining strategic influence.

What makes this particularly valuable is the extension of customer relationships beyond transactional retail interactions. By integrating upstream into the activities that drive equipment purchases, DICK'S creates touchpoints throughout the youth sports journey - from participation to equipment needs - providing competitive insulation against pure e-commerce players lacking these experiential connections.

Sports Industry Strategist

DICK'S strategic investment positions them within the expanding youth sports experiences sector, creating brand touchpoints beyond retail transactions.

Unrivaled Sports has demonstrated impressive market momentum that DICK'S can now leverage through this strategic partnership. The 30% growth in flag football participation alone highlights the vitality of Unrivaled's portfolio, which spans traditional sports like baseball (through Ripken Experiences and Cooperstown All Star Village) to emerging categories like flag football (particularly significant as it becomes an Olympic sport).

The company's ability to host major national events like the Youth Flag World Championship (715 teams including 220 girls' teams) demonstrates their operational scale and market positioning. Their facility improvement initiatives, including multi-million dollar renovations at properties like Big League Dreams Las Vegas, show commitment to experience quality that aligns with DICK'S premium positioning.

What's strategically valuable about this partnership is how it positions DICK'S at the emotional center of youth sports - where families create lifetime memories and form deep associations with brands that enhance those experiences. This investment transcends traditional retail by connecting DICK'S to the fields, spaces and events where memories are made, as explicitly stated in the release.

The partnership also creates natural alignment with DICK'S existing Sports Matter initiative through Unrivaled's commitments to expanding access for underserved communities, hosting free clinics, and providing scholarships - creating a consistent brand narrative around sports accessibility that resonates with consumers increasingly focused on corporate purpose and impact.

DICK'S led the $120M round of investment, obtaining a minority stake alongside other new investors Dynasty Equity, LionTree, Miller Sports & Entertainment and existing investor The Chernin Group (TCG)

NEW YORK, May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Unrivaled Sports, the nation's leader in youth sports experiences, today announced a strategic investment by DICK'S Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS), which led the company's latest funding round. The strategic investment will help fuel Unrivaled Sports' mission — to create unrivaled sport experiences for young athletes everywhere — by continuing to deliver and expand best-in-class experiences, programs and destinations for young athletes across the nation.

"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," said Unrivaled Sports Chairman & CEO Andy Campion. "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 and DICK'S Sporting Goods coming together marks the powerful 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 investment comes from DSG Ventures, the corporate venture capital fund of DICK'S.

"We're incredibly excited to invest in and partner with Unrivaled Sports," said Michael Stack, Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at DICK'S Sporting Goods. "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."

Unrivaled Sports will leverage this new partnership and investments to:

• Expand access to more young athletes and their families across the country by further acquiring, building and diversifying destinations and programming that deliver unrivaled experiences to girls and boys of all ages.
  
  
• Elevate experiences by further 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.
  
  
• Increase amenities across all Unrivaled Sports properties such as lodging, food and beverage, and retail to better serve guests and foster community.

Unrivaled Sports operates a growing portfolio of iconic youth sports destinations and programming — including Cooperstown All Star Village, Ripken Baseball Experiences, Rocker B Ranch, Diamond Nation, Unrivaled Flag, and Under the Lights Flag Football, among others.

Over the past year, Unrivaled Sports has invested significantly in growing and elevating its experiences including:

• Building a national footprint across 30 states through acquisition, now hosting over 600,000 young athletes and nearly 2 million family members and fans.
• Meaningfully enhancing capacity and experiences at owned properties, including:
  • 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. Cooperstown All Star Village will set another consecutive record high in annual attendance in 2025.
  • Re-turfing and building new fields across flagship properties and regional facilities including Rocker B Ranch (TX), Diamond Nation (NJ), and more.
  • Investing in a multi-million dollar renovation and enhancement of West Coast properties, Big League Dreams Las Vegas and Big League Dreams Manteca.
• Growing flag football by significantly increasing participation — over 30% in the last year alone — for both girls and boys through the national flag football league Under the Lights. Unrivaled Sports also hosted the Youth Flag World Championship at Disney which featured 715 teams, including 220 girls' teams and 100+ international teams. 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.

Additionally, Unrivaled Sports is committed to continuing to grow sports participation and expand access for underserved young athletes. With much more to come, Unrivaled Sports is proud of the impact Ripken Baseball has made to-date, from hosting free clinics nationwide to providing scholarships and free tournament access to young athletes and teams in underserved communities across the country. 

David Blitzer and Josh Harris who co-founded and maintain majority ownership of Unrivaled Sports along with existing investor, TCG, welcome new minority investors DSG Ventures, Dynasty Equity, LionTree and Miller Sports & Entertainment — partners who believe in helping Unrivaled Sports deliver on its long-term vision for youth sports.

About Unrivaled Sports
Unrivaled Sports, the nation's leader in youth sports experiences, delivers best-in-class experiences for young athletes, their families and communities through a diverse set of brands across youth sports venues, properties and programming. Unrivaled Sports has welcomed some of the most iconic names in youth sports into its growing family of brands including Cooperstown All Star Village, Ripken Baseball Experiences, Rocker B Ranch, Diamond Nation, Unrivaled Flag, We Are Camp action sports camp and more. From hosting destination tournaments to powering hometown leagues, Unrivaled Sports is committed to delivering formative, memory-making experiences to hundreds of thousands of young athletes and their families across the country. Learn more at unrivaledsports.com @unrivaled.sports. 

About DICK'S Sporting Goods
DICK'S Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) creates confidence and excitement by inspiring, supporting and personally equipping all athletes to achieve their dreams. Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, the leading omnichannel retailer serves athletes and outdoor enthusiasts in more than 850 DICK'S Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy, Public Lands and Going Going Gone! stores, online, and through the DICK'S mobile app. DICK'S also owns and operates DICK'S House of Sport and Golf Galaxy Performance Center, as well as GameChanger, a youth sports mobile platform for live streaming, scheduling, communications and scorekeeping.

Driven by its belief that sports have the power to change lives, DICK'S has been a longtime champion for youth sports and, together with its Foundation, has donated millions of dollars to support under-resourced teams and athletes through the Sports Matter program and other community-based initiatives. Additional information about DICK'S business, corporate giving and employment opportunities can be found on dicks.com, investors.dicks.com, sportsmatter.org, dickssportinggoods.jobs and on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X.

About Dynasty Equity 
Dynasty Equity is a global sports investment firm, co-founded and led by Jonathan M. Nelson and K. Don Cornwell, focused on strategic investments across the sports ecosystem in assets that are resilient, compelling, and differentiated. Dynasty's founders have deep expertise in sector specific private equity and long histories in the business of sports, media, and entertainment. Integral to Dynasty's investment approach is a commitment to enduring partnerships. For more information, visit www.DynastyEquity.com or follow the firm on LinkedIn.

About LionTree 
LionTree is a global investment and merchant banking firm focused on the media, technology, telecom and consumer sectors. Founded in 2012, LionTree works across offices in New York, San Francisco, and London to serve our clients and community through strategic M&A, capital raising, and investments across the globe that capture opportunity and provide best-in-class execution. Since its formation, the Firm has advised on over $850 billion in transactions by bringing capital together with ideas, investing in and alongside our relationships to accelerate growth and innovation. LionTree invests minority, non-controlling capital in partnership with leading, long-term investors and provides additional value through our relationships, sector and thematic expertise and transaction capabilities. LionTree and its affiliates have active principal investments in early venture, growth, and mature companies across key sectors of the digital economy.

About TCG
The Chernin Group (TCG) is a preeminent growth equity firm investing in sports, media and passion-driven businesses. TCG partners with exceptional founders and management teams to grow and optimize market-leading brands in specific consumer categories with passionate followings. The firm leverages decades of operating experience and deep connectivity to the media, sports and technology ecosystems in service of its portfolio companies.

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SOURCE Unrivaled Sports

FAQ

What is the value of DICK'S Sporting Goods (DKS) investment in Unrivaled Sports?

DICK'S Sporting Goods led a $120M investment round in Unrivaled Sports, securing a minority stake through their corporate venture capital fund, DSG Ventures.

How many states and athletes does Unrivaled Sports serve?

Unrivaled Sports operates across 30 states, serving over 600,000 young athletes and nearly 2 million family members and fans.

What is the growth rate of Unrivaled Sports' flag football program?

Unrivaled Sports has grown its flag football participation by over 30% in the last year alone through their Under the Lights program.

What properties does Unrivaled Sports operate?

Unrivaled Sports operates Cooperstown All Star Village, Ripken Baseball Experiences, Rocker B Ranch, Diamond Nation, Unrivaled Flag, and Under the Lights Flag Football, among others.

Who are the investors in Unrivaled Sports' latest funding round?

The funding round includes DICK'S Sporting Goods (lead investor), Dynasty Equity, LionTree, Miller Sports & Entertainment, and existing investor The Chernin Group (TCG).