Bipartisan Support on US House Panel for Examining Private Equity in Youth Sports
Lawmakers warned that consolidation and investor returns could raise fees and price more children out of youth sports, citing a widening participation gap.
- On Tuesday, a bipartisan House subcommittee chaired by Rep. Kevin Kiley scrutinized private equity's role in youth sports during a hearing titled "Field of Fees: Private Equity's Role in the Commercialization of American Youth Sports."
- Private equity investments in amateur sports reached $2.11 billion in the first five months of 2026, more than four times the $550 million recorded during all of 2025, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The U.S. youth sports market is estimated at roughly $40 billion annually.
- Matt Kakabeeke, executive director of the Kalamazoo Optimist Hockey Association in Michigan, testified that Black Bear Sports Group coerced local leaders into its for-profit model and evicted his teams after they resisted the transition.
- Democrats endorsed the Lets Kids Play Act to ban private equity investments in youth sports, while Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, praised firms for funding facility upgrades at the Covelli Center in Youngstown. Rep. Mark Messner, R-Indiana, noted that not all capital businesses operate the same way.
- Katherine Van Dyck, a senior legal fellow with the American Economic Liberties Project, testified Congress must provide public funding for youth sports to schools and parks. Without such investment, she warned, private firms will continue filling the void and limiting family access.
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Bipartisan support on US House panel for examining private equity in youth sports • Maine Morning Star
(Photo via Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Members of a U.S. House Education and Workforce subcommittee found rare common ground scrutinizing private equity’s stake in youth sports at a Tuesday hearing. Lawmakers from both parties on the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education stressed the importance of making sports accessible to all kids and discussed ways to prevent large companies from buying up facilities and r…
Bipartisan support on US House panel for examining private equity in youth sports • Oklahoma Voice
(Photo via Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Members of a U.S. House Education and Workforce subcommittee found rare common ground scrutinizing private equity’s stake in youth sports at a Tuesday hearing. Lawmakers from both parties on the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education stressed the importance of making sports accessible to all kids and discussed ways to prevent large companies from buying up facilities and r…
Maryland Matters
Bipartisan support on US House panel for examining private equity in youth sports
(Photo via Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Members of a U.S. House Education and Workforce subcommittee found rare common ground scrutinizing private equity’s stake in youth sports at a Tuesday hearing. Lawmakers from both parties on the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education stressed the importance of making sports accessible to all kids and discussed ways to prevent large companies from buying up facilities and r…
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