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Nov 10, 2025
🤝 YSBR is partnering with EventConnect and Tyler Webb to give you an exclusive look at facilities and operators in the youth sports marketplace
🏈 High School Football All-Star Knox’s Myles McLaughlin Surpasses Derrick Henry on Single-Season Rushing List
🦓 Chiefs Partner with RefReps to Train Girls Flag Football Referees Across Missouri and Kansas
🏫 IMG Academy CEO Proposes Doubling College Roster Spots at Aspen Institute Panel
🏟️ Minnesota’s National Sports Center: How a $14.7M Investment Generated $1 Billion in Economic Impact
Watch Tyler Webb’s breakdown here…
We’ve partnered with EventConnect, the leading operating system for youth and amateur sports, and Tyler Webb, a top voice in sports business, to bring a first-of-its-kind look at facilities and operators in the youth sports marketplace.
The most important sports venue in Minnesota doesn’t host a professional team, but it generates tens of millions of dollars for the state every year. Located less than 20 miles outside of Minneapolis in Blaine, the National Sports Center is a 700-acre youth athletic complex that has delivered over $1 billion in economic impact since opening in 1990.
Tyler Webb | Sports + Business 🚩 on Instagram: “This place is …
Facility scale:
- 60 soccer fields
- 8 sheets of ice
- 18-hole golf course
- Largest dome in the western hemisphere
When funding was approved in 1987, the state of Minnesota contributed a one-time payment of $14.7 million. Many residents were skeptical about spending that kind of money on an amateur sports facility at the time. But since opening in 1990, the National Sports Center has generated an estimated $96 million in economic impact every single year.
2024 economic impact breakdown:
Across just 63 events, the National Sports Center was responsible for more than $71 million in direct spending from families who traveled at least 50 miles to attend an event. This represents money spent on:
- Hotels
- Restaurants
- Transportation
- Retail
- Recreation
That $71 million in direct spending doesn’t account for the multiplier effect of money recirculating into the local economy, which was estimated to be worth over $112 million in 2024 alone.
While the local community benefits from having this massive complex in their backyard, the real upside lies in tourism spending. The National Sports Center demonstrates how strategic investment in youth sports infrastructure can deliver sustained economic returns far exceeding initial capital costs, turning a $14.7 million one-time payment into a billion-dollar asset over 35 years.
Whether you need the tools to organize tournaments in one place, easily collect payments, or solve group-travel pains, EventConnect has a solution for you.
🏈 Knox’s Myles McLaughlin Surpasses Derrick Henry on Single-Season Rushing List
Myles McLaughlin of Knox (Ind.) surpassed Baltimore Ravens star Derrick Henry on the national single-season rushing yardage list Friday night, running 43 times for 383 yards and six touchdowns in a 48-18 playoff win over Mishawaka Marian.
Evan Hand on Instagram: “A high school football player in India…
Season totals with up to three games remaining:
- 4,396 rushing yards on 409 carries
- 67 rushing touchdowns
- 3 passing touchdowns
- 9 games with 300+ rushing yards
The 5-foot-10 senior quarterback is chasing two national records: Dominick Bragalone’s single-season rushing mark of 4,704 yards (South Williamsport, Pa., 2014) and Kazmeir Allen’s single-season touchdown record of 72 (Tulare Union, Calif., 2017). McLaughlin sits 308 yards from the rushing record and 5 touchdowns from the scoring mark.
McLaughlin is also 737 yards away from Derrick Henry’s career rushing record of 12,124 yards set at Yulee (Fla.). Last week, he became Indiana’s career rushing leader, surpassing Charlie Spegal of New Palestine (10,867 yards).
Knox advances to the regional championship game next Friday, giving McLaughlin at least one more opportunity to add to his record-setting season.
🦓 Chiefs Partner with RefReps to Train Girls Flag Football Referees Across Missouri and Kansas
The Kansas City Chiefs and RefReps will provide free officiating education to over 100 high school girls flag football referees starting in the Kansas City metro area, announced November 5. The program covers 29 varsity girls flag football programs in Kansas City and will expand to St. Louis, Springfield, Topeka, and Wichita.
Program reach:
- Current coverage: 58 high schools in Missouri, 98 high schools plus 6 colleges in Kansas
- Total users nationwide: 46,000+ across RefReps platform
- Initial focus: Kansas City metro’s 29 varsity girls flag football programs
- Expansion: St. Louis, Springfield, Topeka, Wichita
RefReps’ Officiating Education System offers standardized, video-based coursework and immersive point-of-view officiating scenarios designed to prepare new referees for game situations. The platform focuses on rule knowledge, game management, and player safety protocols specific to flag football.
“Our partnership with RefReps is incredible for the growth of girls flag football throughout Missouri and Kansas,” said Lara Krug, Chiefs EVP and Chief Media & Marketing Officer. “It is essential to provide a safe, quality, and fun game for up-and-coming athletes as we progress toward officially sanctioning girls flag football as an official varsity sport across the country.”
🏫 IMG Academy CEO Proposes Doubling College Roster Spots at Aspen Institute Panel
IMG Academy CEO Brent Richard proposed doubling college sports participation to one million roster spots during the Future of Sports Policy Panel sponsored by the Aspen Institute on November 7, addressing what he described as a critical supply-demand imbalance in college athletics.
“There’s eight million high school athletes being crammed into 500,000 college roster spots,” Richard said. “That supply-demand imbalance is really tough, and it creates all sorts of downstream impacts into youth sports.”
Multi-team proposal components:
- Access and equity: More roster spots for late developers, multi-sport athletes, and students who benefit from structured sport and academics
- Non-revenue sports protection: Larger participation model helps stabilize Olympic and women’s programs facing roster cuts
- Resource alignment: Use existing facilities, coaching, and scholarships to meet demand without “do more with less” mandates
- Pipeline thinking: College policy changes affect youth sports systems and early specialization pressures
Richard emphasized a “do no harm” approach while rules governing college athletics are being rewritten, specifically avoiding reforms that cut Olympic and women’s sports. The panel included sport law professors, entertainment attorneys, and foundation executives discussing policy reform in college and youth sports.
The proposal aims to “scale supply to match demand” by enabling multi-team models that universities can self-fund, similar to how youth clubs organize different age groups and skill levels. Richard’s FAQs explain that more college opportunities could reduce “the high-stakes squeeze that drives early specialization and cost escalation in youth sports.”
About Youth Sports Business Report
Youth Sports Business Report is the largest and most trusted source for youth sports industry news, insights, and analysis covering the $54 billion youth sports market. Trusted by over 50,000 followers including industry executives, investors, youth sports parents and sports business professionals, we are the premier destination for comprehensive youth sports business intelligence.
Our core mission: Make Youth Sports Better. As the leading authority in youth sports business reporting, we deliver unparalleled coverage of sports business trends, youth athletics, and emerging opportunities across the youth sports ecosystem.
Our expert editorial team provides authoritative, in-depth reporting on key youth sports industry verticals including:
- Sports sponsorship and institutional capital (Private Equity, Venture Capital)
- Youth Sports events and tournament management
- NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) developments and compliance
- Youth sports coaching and sports recruitment strategies
- Sports technology and data analytics innovation
- Youth sports facilities development and management
- Sports content creation and digital media monetization
Whether you’re a sports industry executive, institutional investor, youth sports parent, coach, or sports business enthusiast, Youth Sports Business Report is your most reliable source for the actionable sports business insights you need to stay ahead of youth athletics trends and make informed decisions in the rapidly evolving youth sports landscape.
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