Garrett Shea

MADE Hoops is moving beyond events and into year-round player development infrastructure. In partnership with HMBL Development, the group has opened a 15,000-square-foot youth basketball development center in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. The facility marks the first permanent training hub for MADE Hoops, which has spent the past decade building one of the largest grassroots basketball circuits in the United States. The facility includes: • One full college-size basketball court plus a side shooting court • Shot-tracking technology delivering real-time performance data • A turf training zone for speed, agility, and plyometrics • A dedicated player lounge for athletes Daily programming will be led by HMBL founder Justin Bright and a staff of six coaches. Bright’s client list includes Kiyan Anthony and Deron Rippey Jr., one of the top-ranked point guards in the 2026 class. The project comes shortly after MADE Hoops raised outside capital led by SC Holdings and LRMR VENTURES, LLC, with participation from Boardroom Sports Holdings and NBA All-Star Paolo Banchero. My take: Grassroots basketball platforms are starting to build physical development hubs, not just tournament circuits. Organizations like MADE Hoops already control events, recruiting exposure, and talent pipelines. Adding training facilities turns those platforms into year-round development ecosystems, where performance data, coaching, brand partnerships, and athlete exposure can all live in one place. That model looks increasingly similar to what we see in soccer academies and elite development programs, now translating into the basketball ecosystem. Source: Youth Sports Business Report #YouthBasketball #GrassrootsBasketball #SportsBusiness #AthleteDevelopment #YouthSports

113

1 Comment

Had a great conversation with David Lovejoy at Horizon Search on a variety of topics in the sports and entertainment industry. Love the title of the segment; Sports Revenue Playbook! Take a listen/watch!

21

Momentous Sports's Marley Hughes latest newsletter examines the behavioral economic impact of cashless transactions at sports venues using AMB Sports and Entertainment as a case study. His primary insight is that fans "spent significantly more while reporting higher satisfaction levels" is particularly compelling for #sportsbiz leaders given there is usually an inverse correlation between increases in price and fan satisfaction. I highlighted a similar dynamic when examining the increase in Major League Baseball (MLB) attendance during the 2023 season by spotlighting cashless transactions as catalyst for league attendance growth in a JohnWallStreet column. https://lnkd.in/gVCP9akk

17

1 Comment

We don’t chase trends. We spot them before they spike. I’m excited to launch IMG’s Digital Trends Report 2026, our eighth edition and a must read for anyone shaping the future of sport and media. Each year, our in-house digital experts analyse where sport meets technology to identify the shifts that matter most. They’ve spent the past 12 months mapping the moves you need to make now to stay ahead. This year’s report outlines seven forces set to define the next 12 months, from how to grow impact on social, to using AI search to elevate visibility, to harnessing the power of Amazon Web Services and beyond. It cuts through the noise to give real context, insight and action. A huge thank you to the team behind this. I can’t wait to see how our partners use it to shape their strategies for 2026. It’s time to unlock what’s next... now. Read the report here: https://bit.ly/4a2ztwD

75

1 Comment

On the latest episode of JohnWallStreet Presents: Big Business on Campus, a college sports podcast powered by Playfly Sports and sponsored by Short's Travel Management, JohnWallStreet Founder Corey Leff and Playfly Sports Chairman Michael Schreiber sit down with University of Pittsburgh Director of Athletics Allen Greene. In this 40-minute conversation, we touch on: · Deepening Relationships with Donors and Sponsors – Driving NIL and external revenues were atop Greene’s list of priorities when he arrived in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood in November 2024. “The first [under-monetized income stream we focused on was] the Athletic Director’s Fund, from a philanthropic perspective, to help us support our collective,” Greene said. “Then, we looked at our relationship with our third-party MMR, JMI, and making sure that we’re continuing to build on that relationship…. There are opportunities for us to have greater partnerships and greater synergies. There are opportunities for me to be more engaged with our top corporate sponsors.” · The Prospect of PE in College Sports – Greene rejects the idea that private equity can be easily applied to college sports. If athletic departments were run as for-profit businesses, sure. But that would mean only operating a few high-revenue sports. College athletics has a broader mandate. It’s about balancing business discipline with education, development, and community impact. “The traditional concept of PE doesn’t work [for college sports] in its current construct,” Greene said. “In order to extrapolate the revenue on an annual basis that the investors need to have a return on their investment [would] mean such a sizable shift in the function of college athletics.” · Pitt’s Off-Campus Home – The University of Pittsburgh lacks an on-campus football stadium. But Greene doesn’t see that as a negative. Nor or there plans to build a new venue. In fact, the program uses its NFL home (Acrisure Stadium) as a recruiting tool. “We’re one of only a few schools who share a stadium with an NFL team…our guys have an opportunity to be around the NFL players, the ones who do it the best,” Greene said. “We’re ahead of the game, in my opinion, [and] because we have a strong relationship with the Steelers—it’s an advantage for us.” 📺 Link to the full video in comments. #CollegeSports #SportsBiz #Sports #Media #Finance #Strategy #Intelligence

14

2 Comments

We are excited to share three powerful new enhancements designed specifically for club organizers and tournament directors within our TMS software! - Pre-scheduled draw publishing – Set your draws to go live automatically on selected dates/times. - Flexible player movement – Seamlessly move players or teams between divisions, right within your interface. - Division-specific registration controls – Customize registration windows per division to suit your event’s unique needs. These enhancements simplify event planning, accomodate real world scheduling challenges, and make running events smoother. These updates are a direct result of feedback from the UTR Sports community and help streamline operations for organizers. #SportsTech #EventManagement #UTRSports #ClubSolutions

10

Sports tech M&A saw some decent uptick this past year. In sports performance especially. And the pace of consolidation is picking up fast. But the risks most people miss are not in the term sheet. So I hope this is useful & timely for those who are in the middle of an exciting transformational M&A moment.

14