Private Equity Sets Sights on $30 Billion Youth Sports Industry

Cooperstown All Star Village sits on a southwest-facing slope in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains in Oneonta, New York. It’s about a 20-mile drive south of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown proper. Like many businesses in the area, the All Star Village indulges in a bit of geographical imprecision to borrow the Cooperstown name, which has become synonymous with the hall of fame. On a muggy Wednesday morning in July, Rick Abbott, chief executive officer of CASV, stops his golf cart to show me the view from the top of the hill. “Our topography is unbelievable,” ...