Presented by Diamond Nation
Unrivaled Sports acquired Diamond Nation, a baseball and softball facility in Flemington, N.J., and added additional youth sports facilities including Ripken Baseball, Cooperstown All-Star Village and We Are Camp.
Last month, Josh Harris and David Blitzer launched Unrivaled to build on youth sports assets the private equity giant and longtime sports team owner had purchased over the past two years. Baseball is the focus, and Diamond Nation annually hosts 3,000 teams and his 45,000 participants in tournaments across his seven stadiums, and also features indoor training facilities.
Purchase terms were not disclosed.
Diamond Nation was founded in 2009 by Jack Cust Sr. Jack Cust Sr. had his 10-year career in the major leagues and helped run the Diamond Nation along with his two brothers. The Kast family will continue to be involved in the operation of the facility.
“Our athletes and families will greatly benefit from the additional resources available through our national initiative to strengthen youth sports environments,” Jack Sr. said in a statement.
The creation of Unrivaled included an investment by Chernin Group (TCG) and the hiring of former Nike chief operating officer and longtime Disney executive Andy Campion to run the company. was.
Harris and Blitzer's first investment was the $116 million purchase of All-Star Village in 2022, doubling their investment in baseball with Ripken's majority interest. Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Partners has hired longtime sports executive Wade Martin to run its baseball side.
Other acquisitions include Olympian Shaun White's deal with action sports brand We Are Camp, valuing the business at $10 million, and the first youth football acquisition in December , through a $10 million majority investment in the Hall of Fame's Forever Lawn Sports Complex. Village of Canton, Ohio.
“There's an almost insatiable demand for youth sports experiences,” Campion said in a phone interview last month. “What exists today is only a fraction of the possibilities we have in mind.”
The acquisition of Diamond Nation marks the 14th owned and operated property in Unrivaled's portfolio. The company expects to welcome more than 600,000 athletes and his 1.3 million participants to its venues annually.
