Key Takeaways
- Perfect Game will run at least 23 elite amateur baseball events at AAG’s Mesa campus over the next two years under the agreement announced October 22, 2026.
- The event slate features the Arizona Fall State Championship, the Best of the West Invitational, and the Fall Series tournaments.
- Per Perfect Game, 92 percent of players selected in the 2025 MLB Draft had competed in its events, including every day-one pick.
- The deal extends Perfect Game’s West Coast programming, running from youth tournaments up through the MLK West Championship each January.
Arizona Athletic Grounds will host at least 23 Perfect Game elite amateur baseball events over the next two years, the Mesa, Arizona venue announced October 22, 2026. The two-year Perfect Game partnership makes AAG the host site for a slate that includes the Arizona Fall State Championship, the Best of the West Invitational, and the Fall Series tournaments, and it builds on a relationship the two organizations say has been in place for several years.
What the Perfect Game Partnership Covers
The agreement names AAG as host site for Perfect Game, which bills itself as the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service. The 23-event minimum concentrates a significant block of the organization’s Arizona programming at a single baseball facility.
“We have had a great relationship with Perfect Game over the last few years and are excited to extend this partnership to a much higher level over the next two years,” said Ashley Pauly, Director of Diamonds at Arizona Athletic Grounds, in the announcement.
For AAG, the deal adds a high-volume baseball anchor to a venue portfolio that already includes tenants across multiple sports.
Inside AAG’s 275-Acre Mesa Campus
According to the company, Arizona Athletic Grounds spans 275 acres in Mesa with more than 150 playing surfaces, 500,000 indoor square feet, and millions of visitors annually. The campus hosts events for MLS NEXT, Nike EYBL, USA Basketball, Tribe Basketball, Major League Pickleball, and Special Olympics Arizona, and it recently became home to the PPA Tour on a 41-court pickleball complex.
The venue also served as the 2026 FIFA World Cup base camp for the Türkiye men’s national team and houses Sports Academy’s 50,000-square-foot training and recovery space. Perfect Game CEO Rob Ponger pointed to the baseball facility’s all-turf surfaces and staff as the draw for players and families.
How Big Is Perfect Game’s Scouting Pipeline?
Perfect Game says it produces nearly 10,000 events, games, and showcases each year across the country. The company reports that more than 2,600 of its event alumni have gone on to play in Major League Baseball, and that 16,400 alumni have been selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft since 2003. In the 2025 Draft, per Perfect Game, 92 percent of all players selected had played in its events, and every player taken on the Draft’s first day had attended one.
Those numbers are the core of the value proposition for the families filling AAG’s fields: tournament reps in front of college recruiters and professional scouts in one location.
Mesa Anchors Perfect Game’s Push West
Ponger framed the expanded Arizona schedule as a geographic decision as much as a facilities one. “By bringing more of our events out west, we’re making it more convenient for families on the West Coast to experience Perfect Game baseball closer to home, from our youth tournaments all the way up to the MLK West Championship each January,” he said in the release.
For venue operators, the deal is a template worth watching: a multi-year event-volume commitment, rather than a one-off tournament rental, that gives both sides a predictable calendar. The slate begins with Arizona’s fall tournament season and runs each year through the MLK West Championship in January, which Perfect Game has confirmed as the top of its West Coast schedule.
Source: Arizona Athletic Grounds Press Release, October 22, 2026, www.azgrounds.com
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Youth Sports Business Report (YSBR) is the largest and most trusted media platform covering the business of youth sports worldwide. YSBR delivers youth sports news, market intelligence, and original analysis daily across facilities, sponsorships, private equity, NIL, sports technology, and league operations. With more than 50,000 followers, YSBR is the leading source of youth sports industry news for the investors, owners, operators, and brands shaping the future of youth sports.
How big is the youth sports market?
American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
Who founded Youth Sports Business Report?
Youth Sports Business Report was founded by Cameron Korab, a sports marketing veteran with more than a decade in the industry and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Korab also co-founded Vertical Sports, a sports marketing advisory serving brands across youth, college, and pro sports.
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YSBR delivers original reporting and market intelligence on youth sports facilities, youth sports technology, sponsorship and brand partnerships, private equity and venture capital deals, NIL policy, coaching development, equipment and apparel, tournaments and events, and community sports initiatives. Readers include industry executives, investors, facility owners and operators, league administrators, and youth sports parents.
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Hosted by Cameron Korab, founder of Youth Sports Business Report, Jr. Sports Marketing features candid 1-on-1 conversations with the brands, athletes, leagues, and innovators building the future of youth sports. Each episode breaks down how the smartest brands are activating, building equity, and winning with youth sports families. If you’re an operator, founder, investor, or marketer trying to understand where this space is headed, this is your show.
Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
