Key Takeaways
- Mike Kenney, who ran Ripken Baseball from 2019 to 2024, takes over revenue strategy at Capacity Sports Group.
- Kenney spent more than a decade at the Harlem Globetrotters, where domestic tour revenue doubled during his tenure as executive vice president.
- Capacity has acquired eight businesses since forming in January 2026 through the merger of Prep Baseball and Bullpen Ventures.
- The company recently expanded at LakePoint Sports near Atlanta, adding operations at the 170,000-square-foot Champions Center Indoor Pavilion.
Capacity Sports Group named Mike Kenney chief revenue officer on October 21, 2026, bringing the former Ripken Baseball CEO into a leadership team the Indianapolis-based youth sports platform has been assembling since spring. Kenney will work across Capacity’s businesses to develop commercial partnerships and growth opportunities spanning events, facilities and programming, the company said.
A Commercial Resume Built at Ripken and the Globetrotters
Kenney led Ripken Baseball from 2019 to 2024, a stretch that included the launch of Ripken Select and the All-Ripken Games along with a seven-figure partnership with a global athletic apparel company, according to the announcement. Before that, he spent more than a decade as executive vice president of the Harlem Globetrotters, where the company said domestic tour revenue doubled and the organization secured the largest revenue partnership in its history. His earlier career included roles with Comcast Spectacor.
That background maps closely to the job description. Capacity is a collection of event brands, facilities and programming businesses, and the CRO role centers on building partnerships those businesses can monetize together rather than one at a time.
“What drew me to Capacity was the experience throughout the company and the opportunity to build something together,” Kenney said in the announcement.
How Capacity Sports Group Built Its Leadership Bench
Kenney is the latest in a series of executive additions since spring. The company has brought on chief operating officer Dan LeBlanc, senior vice president of M&A Surry Wood, chief of staff Kristen Ajamie and director of corporate development John Vardzel, joining an established leadership group that includes President Blake Hibler and CEO Ken Kocher.
“Mike brings a proven track record of growing sports businesses, building brands and developing valuable partnerships,” Kocher said. “He joins leaders who have spent more than 20 years building and running the businesses now part of Capacity.”
A dedicated M&A executive and a corporate development hire alongside a CRO signals the two tracks Capacity is staffing for at once: continued acquisition and commercial growth across what it already owns.
Eight Acquisitions in the First Ten Months
Capacity launched in January 2026 through the merger of Prep Baseball and Bullpen Ventures, combining scouting, showcases, media and player development with tournament programming and venue operations. Since then, the company has added Play9 Sports, United Sports, YSC Sports, Sideline Soccer Solutions, Flag Football Life, West Chester Flag Football, BNA Athletes and Ryze Hoops, per the announcement.
The portfolio now reaches across baseball, softball, soccer, flag football, lacrosse and basketball, with stated strategic focus extending to volleyball as well. The company also recently expanded its footprint at LakePoint Sports near Atlanta, where Prep Baseball has run tournaments since 2019, adding Publix Fields and operations at the 170,000-square-foot Champions Center Indoor Pavilion.
A Revenue Mandate Across 13 Brands and Six Sports
Capacity’s family of businesses now numbers 13, and the company says its approach is to preserve the identities and relationships of each while supporting shared standards for quality, safety and accountability. Kenney’s mandate sits directly on that tension: building partnerships at platform scale without flattening the local brands that earned the underlying trust.
The hire gives Capacity a revenue chief with experience selling national partnerships at the Globetrotters and operating a destination-driven youth brand at Ripken.
Source: Capacity Sports Group, October 21, 2026, capacitysportsgroup.com
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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.
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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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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.
