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Wall Street Is Paywalling Your Kids' Sports

18 points by ripe

by nradov

4 subcomments

Beyond this specific issue with ice hockey, participation in youth sports in general has become an escalating financial arms race affordable only to more affluent families. Any parent who wants their child to develop sufficient mastery to maybe have a shot at a college athletic scholarship — or the remote chance of a career as an Olympic or professional athlete — is pretty much forced to pay for travel club teams plus extra private coaching. Sometimes low-income families can get reduced fees but still it's tough to make the logistics work.

by toast0

0 subcomment

> In 2015, the Maryland-based Black Bear Sports entered the scene. The company, owned by the private equity firm Blackstreet Capital, began buying up struggling ice rinks, some of which were on the verge of closing.
This is the basic strategy of private equity. Find a sector of businesses that is doing poorly, buy them up (they're motivated to sell), run them poorly for several years while collecting money, file for bankruptcy and find a new sector to take on.
If running an ice rink was good business, PE would have a hard time finding rinks to buy for prices they're willing to pay.

by hnburnsy

0 subcomment

Almost as bad as the professional teams controlling and monetizing youth sports...
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/11/06/te...

by jerlam

0 subcomment

Similar previous discussion:
Private Equity's New Venture: Youth Sports (80 comments)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46006183

by mzajc

0 subcomment

by nkmnz

0 subcomment

So this is about parents complaining they cannot videotape other people’s children and put it online without any form of permission? Disgusting. I want my future children to be able to play sports without being displayed on YouTube.

by s09dfhks

1 subcomments