Camp Capital: The Billion-Dollar Summer Market Investors Overlook

From family spending to platform plays, summer sport is scaling fast. The growth in summer youth sports is expanding across all seasons and should not be ignored.

Jul 10, 2025

📌 This Week’s Takeaway
Summer sport is no longer just about fun in the sun. It’s a scaled-up business opportunity sitting at the intersection of youth development, private equity and regional tourism. Camps are charging premium prices. Families are spending heavily. Institutional platforms are consolidating. And events like AAU Nationals are generating municipal-scale impact.

From June to August, the youth sports market goes into overdrive – not just with activity, but with investment. Capital is chasing three things: repeatable models, brand equity, and real estate that drives volume. The winners are building vertically integrated platforms across training, travel teams, events and tech.

The same infrastructure – from camp platforms to club ownership models – is now expanding into a year-round business that includes school holidays, weekend circuits and off-season training. Investors who understand the seasonal entry point can build full-cycle, annualised platforms with stronger recurring returns.

☀️ Summer Sports Inc

According to IBISWorld, the U.S. summer camp industry is projected to reach $4.7 billion in revenue by 2025, with sports camps identified as the largest segment within that market. There are currently 5,719 businesses operating in the U.S. summer camp industry, and the sector has grown at an average annual rate of 0.5 percent between 2019 and 2024.
Summer sport is now a seasonal boom market – driven by how much parents are willing to spend and how private equity is building around that demand.

According to a 2024 study by the University of Michigan’s Economic Growth Institute and the American Camp Association, the U.S. youth camp industry contributes $70 billion annually to the economy, supporting over 986,000 workers through direct production, B2B services and labour income. This figure does not include travel team operations or national tournaments.

Average U.S. families spend between $1,000 and $1,500 annually on their child’s primary sport, including travel, coaching and gear, according to the Aspen Institute; some estimate that families can often invest up to $10,000 per year per athlete on travel, coaching, and gear. Meanwhile, the wider U.S. market for sports-related travel generated $52.2 billion in direct spending in 2023, primarily from youth and amateur competitions. Some reports suggest travel teams may generate over $5 billion in direct spending annually.

Local economies also benefit. The AAU Volleyball Nationals, the world’s largest volleyball tournament, generated more than $760 million in local economic impact for Orlando, Florida in 2024, according to Visit Orlando and the Amateur Athletic Union.

And while the athletes are young, the price tags are grown-up. Elite summer camps now charge premium rates, often between $1,000 and $3,000 per week, driven by rising demand for specialised training:
● IMG Academy, a private athletic boarding school in Florida, advertises one-week tennis programmes for up to $4,300, with three-week packages reaching $12,400. Pricing may vary by season and sport.
● Camp Winaukee, a traditional New Hampshire-based boys’ residential summer camp offering both sports training and outdoor adventure, charges $14,700 for its full summer programme, according to its official website.
● International Gymnastics Camp in Pennsylvania, one of the most established U.S. facilities for elite youth gymnastics training, lists one-week sessions at $1,400.

🏟️ Tournament Tourism and the Summer Surge

From June to August, families are spending aggressively on travel teams, tournaments and high-performance training camps.

AAU Volleyball Nationals – The world’s largest volleyball tournament, hosted by the Amateur Athletic Union, generated more than $760 million in economic impact in Orlando in 2024, according to Visit Orlando and AAU press releases. That makes it one of the most economically influential amateur sports events in the U.S.
Travel Teams – While some sources estimate over $5 billion in direct annual revenue across the U.S., according to the Youth Sports Business Report. These teams operate in a fragmented but lucrative landscape of club circuits, tournaments and recruiting showcases.

🧱 Infrastructure & Operators: Who’s Building the Platform?

On the institutional and platform side, examples of private capital being deployed are growing rapidly.

● U.S. Sports Camps – The largest youth sports camp company in the U.S., running over 6,000 camps per year under the Nike Sports Camps brand. It is owned by Youth Enrichment Brands, backed by Roark Capital. USSC offers 19 sports and academic programmes, serving 100,000+ campers annually.

● Youth Enrichment Brands (YEB) – A Roark Capital–backed portfolio combining:
○ i9 Sports – Franchise model for multi-sport leagues (ages 3–14)
○ School of Rock – Performance-based music education
○ Streamline Brands – Swim schools
○ U.S. Baseball Academy
○ KE Camps – Country club summer camps

Other Roark Capital investments include also
○ Primrose Schools – Pre-K education franchising
○ Mathnasium – Maths tutoring franchising
YEB’s youth programmes reach over 700,000 children annually across multiple sectors.

● 3STEP Sports – The largest club and event operator in U.S. youth sports, with 150+ brands, 2,500 programmes and reportedly over 1.5 million athletes across 9 sports. It is backed by Juggernaut Capital, which invested to scale integrated club ownership, tournament operation, content, apparel and partnerships with Under Armour and New Balance.

💰 Private Capital is Following the Heat

The off-season boom isn’t just built on family and athlete demand. It’s catching the attention of serious capital looking to scale youth sports.

Private equity firms, venture funds, and holding companies are buying camps, clinics, training programs, and related services. Consequently, they turn them into large national businesses that can grow, make money, and reach more families.

Private Equity & Platform Builders

→ 3STEP Sports – Backed by Juggernaut Capital Partners, 3STEP is the largest youth sports platform in the U.S., with:

● 2,500 programs, 150+ brands, and 1.5M+ athletes

● Events and club operations across 9 sports

● Revenue from apparel, media content, tournaments, and sponsorships

● Major brand partnerships with Under Armour and New Balance

→ Roark Capital – A franchise-focused PE firm building the Youth Enrichment Brands (YEB) platform, which owns:

● i9 Sports – Multi-sport rec leagues for ages 3–14

● U.S. Sports Camps – 6,000+ Nike-branded camps/year

● School of Rock, Streamline Brands (swim schools), KE Camps, U.S. Baseball Academy, Primrose Schools, Mathnasium

● Roark’s model focuses on franchise-based scalability, letting local camps and coaches run programs under well-known national brands.

→ Youth Athletes United – Backed by Serent Capital, YAU is a youth sports platform built through franchising and licensing. It brings together multiple brands including:

● Skyhawks Sports (youth leagues and multi-sport camps)

● TGA Premier Sports (golf and tennis instruction in schools and parks)

● JumpBunch (introductory physical activity for preschool and elementary kids)

YAU licenses its brands to local operators across 120+ territories, reaching 200,000+ athletes annually. This model helps entrepreneurs launch sports businesses under trusted national brands while helping local operators grow faster, and giving investors a clear model to scale across the country.

→ Surf Soccer – A top-tier soccer academy and tournament operator backed by Pioneer Sports Group.

Surf Soccer operates over 50 affiliate clubs across the U.S. under a licensed brand model. It serves 15,000+ players annually, and is the organizer of the Surf Cup, one of the top five revenue-generating youth soccer tournaments in the U.S., attracting 500+ college coaches and 30,000+ attendees each year. Surf combines elite academy development with high-visibility tournaments, creating a year-round monetization model through club fees, event operations, and apparel licensing.

→ SPIRE Academy – SPIRE Academy is a 800,000 sq. ft. multisport boarding school and training complex in Geneva, Ohio, operated by Axxella, a Baltimore-based private investment firm that acquired SPIRE Institute and Academy in 2019. The campus includes indoor arenas, Olympic-grade tracks, aquatic centers, and residential housing. SPIRE generates revenue through:

● Elite boarding school programs in basketball, track & field, and swimming

● Summer training camps attracting domestic and international athletes

● Event hosting and facility rentals (youth tournaments, combines, corporate retreats)

● Real estate income from on-site dormitories and hospitality zones

The model integrates education, training, competition, and lodging. This model allows SPIRE to monetize across verticals like tuition and training to hospitality and rentals, creating both long-term athlete value and near-term operating cash flow.

→ IMG Academy – Acquired by EQT Private Equity in 2023 for $1.25 billion from Endeavor, IMG Academy is the most recognized youth sports development brand in the U.S., with a 600-acre campus in Bradenton, Florida. It serves over 100,000 athletes annually through:

● Boarding school tuition across seven sports

● Premium summer and seasonal camps

● Pro-day style combines and showcases for scouts and recruiters

● NIL consulting and brand development services for top prospects

● Original media content and brand licensing

IMG Academy operates as a vertically integrated youth sports enterprise, combining elite sports education, high-margin seasonal training camps, professional exposure events, NIL commercialization services, and original media content. This structure allows IMG to capture value across the full athlete lifecycle from early-stage talent development to pre-professional branding and monetization.

Venture Capital & Growth Equity

→ Overtime Elite (OTE) – Backed by over $100M in venture capital (from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Bezos Expeditions, and Drake), OTE offers a fully paid, pro-style alternative to traditional high school and college basketball for elite 16–20-year-old athletes.

Based out of its custom-built Atlanta campus, OTE runs a closed, vertically controlled ecosystem that includes:

● Player salaries ($100K+), education, housing, and full-time coaching

● Training and development infrastructure modeled after NBA standards

● Live and digital content production, reaching 75M+ social followers

● Event-driven monetization via ticketed games, brand deals, and media rights

OTE develops top young basketball talent while producing digital content around their journey, turning athletes into media assets and creating new revenue from fans, sponsors, and streaming.

→ ArbiterSports – Backed by Serent Capital, ArbiterSports is a software platform used by 7,000+ leagues, schools, and tournament organizers to manage the scheduling, assigning, and payment of referees and officials across youth and amateur sports.

Its core products help to automate:

● Referee scheduling and communication

● Digital payments and tax reporting

● Game and event coordination across multiple teams and venues

Arbiter represents a recurring-revenue infrastructure business for investors targeting digital transformation in sport logistics.

⚙️ Business Models Driving Summer Sport

Summer sports is a fast-growing market, but long-term success depends on having the right operating model, one that enables scale, brand recognition, and investable returns.

1. Licensed Franchise Partners

Operate camps under a major brand’s name and curriculum.

● Example: U.S. Sports Camps (USSC) is the nation’s leading youth sports camp operator, with over 6,000 events annually across 48 states.

● USSC licenses the Nike Sports Camps brand and model to local partners.

● Owned by Roark Capital through Youth Enrichment Brands, the group supports scalability via brand equity, marketing support, and nationwide infrastructure.

2. Franchise-Based Scalability

Buy a territory and deliver proven youth programming with local execution.

● Example: Youth Athletes United is a youth sports franchising platform backed by Serent Capital. It owns and scales programs like:

○ Skyhawks: Multi-sport recreational camps for children aged 4–14.

○ Amazing Athletes: Developmental fitness programs focused on early childhood motor skills (ages 1.5–6).

● Franchisees operate under centralized branding, systems, and marketing support, allowing for consistent growth across regions.

3. Pro Team Licensing

Leverage professional sports team brands for youth engagement and monetization.

● Pro clubs license their names and logos to trusted camp operators or franchisees.

● Examples include youth academies run in partnership with MLS or NBA franchises during summer months.

● This model supports brand extension, local fanbase cultivation, and incremental revenue for clubs.

4. Campus-Driven Models

Vertically integrated platforms combining real estate, athlete development, and education.

● IMG Academy (acquired by EQT for $1.25B) is the leading example—combining elite training, academic education, summer camps, tournaments, and branded media content all on a private campus in Bradenton, Florida.

● SPIRE Academy, a private athletic boarding school in Geneva, Ohio, replicates this model with a focus on Olympic and professional pathways across sports like track & field, basketball, and swimming.

● Revenue sources include tuition, housing, real estate leasing, performance services, and hosting of regional and national events.

5. Direct-Owned Academies

Full control over clubs, training programs, tournaments, apparel, and media platforms.

● Example: 3STEP Sports, backed by Juggernaut Capital, is the largest youth sports operator in the U.S., with 2,500+ programs, 150+ brands, and over 1.5 million athletes annually. It controls club operations, apparel sales, event hosting, and data analytics—offering a complete youth sports stack.

● Surf Soccer, backed by Pioneer Sports, operates its own youth academy and tournament ecosystem across the U.S., without franchising or licensing. Its model retains branding, operations, and revenue ownership in-house, enabling consistent athlete development and direct monetization.

📈 The Investor Playbook: How to Scale Seasonal Demand

Summer is now a structured entry point into scalable sport business. For those looking to deploy capital, here is the break down of the strategies:

Buy and combine multiple youth sports tournament companies → Consolidate regional tournament businesses into national platforms.
Many tournament operators are founder-led and fragmented. Aggregating them unlocks shared scheduling tools, sponsor access, data aggregation, and cost efficiency. Example: 3STEP Sports has executed this strategy across nine sports.
Replace manual processes with digital tools to improve efficiency and scale → Invest in platforms that modernize scheduling, payments, video, and NIL tracking.
Youth sports still run on spreadsheets and word-of-mouth. Tools that offer digital registrations, streaming, scouting footage, and athlete branding support (e.g. NIL profiles) are in high demand.
Develop real estate around sports complexes to drive traffic and value → Use youth sports events to drive demand for hotels, retail, and facilities.
Tournaments generate real, recurring economic impact. For example, AAU Volleyball Nationals created $760.8M in local impact in Orlando.
Partner with well-known brands to run programs under their name → Operate proven programs with strong national recognition and support.
Franchise and license models (e.g. USSC/Nike Camps, Youth Athletes United) allow investors to plug into brands with marketing reach, parent trust, and existing curriculum. Lower upfront risk with a replicable model and high retention rates.
Build one-stop platforms that combine coaching, tournaments, athlete marketing, and digital tools → Create one place for training, content, and monetization. Follow the athlete from their first camp to their first brand deal. Examples in this case include IMG Academy (sold to EQT for $1.25B) which combines on-site training, private school, events, and branded programs. Makes money through tuition, summer camps, sponsorships, and athlete media. Also, Overtime Elite (raised $100M+) which is a basketball league and academy that trains athletes, produces content, and builds their brands. Generates revenue from media rights, sponsors, and product sales.

What begins in summer increasingly extends across the calendar. The most successful youth sports operators are scaling into after-school programmes, winter clinics and long-term development academies. Seasonality is a launchpad, not a limit.