The facilities are getting fancy

Many young athletes today aren’t forced to do drills on the steps of their local art museum. That’s because real estate developers are going all in on the youth sports boom by building state-of-the-art training grounds that Rocky would envy.

One facility owner told Bloomberg that youth sports buildings are “recession-proof,” since parents spending on the dream of their kids going pro is among the last things they will cut back on.

Here are just a few places where children train like elite athletes:

• The Program NYC is a 12,500-square-foot basketball training center for players 6 and older in Brooklyn offering weight training and recovery amenities, including a sauna, cold plunge, and air compression massage. Youth Membership costs $500 per month or $4,500 for an annual commitment. It also offers the Platinum Membership, a “basketball concierge service for the Middle, High School, College or Pro player looking to to take the next step in his/her basketball journey,” for $2,500 per month.
• The growing bougie basketball court chain Shoot360 has 50 locations worldwide, offering AI-enabled training with instant analytic feedback.
• Travel baseball teams at the Ballparks of America in Missouri play in replicas of famous MLB stadiums and stay in on-site dorms.
• The $125 million AdventHealth Sports Park in Kansas opened in 2024 with an NHL-regulation ice rink, basketball courts that convert to accommodate pickleball or volleyball, and a recovery center with a hydrotherapy pool.
• The $60 million Eagle Stadium in Allen, TX, (pictured above) has 18,000 seats, a jumbotron, a weightlifting room, and a luxury suite for VIP spectators. It serves as the home field for a local high school football team.

The upshot: Athletics administrators told Bloomberg that the pricey private facilities are sprouting up amid disinvestment from free public courts and fields, making sports participation less affordable.—SK