Rep. Pat Ryan held a roundtable discussion Wednesday to talk about the impact private equity is having on youth sports.
Ryan was looking for feedback from youth coaches, parents and athletes on his newly introduced bill, the Let Kids Play Act. The bill would ban private equity from youth sports, among other accountability measures.
Those include getting refunds to families for junk fees collected through these companies, liability for debts and safety violations, as well as the creation of a youth sports fund that would go back into community-focused sport organizations.
Ryan said private equity companies drive up costs for families trying to give their kids athletic opportunities. According to his office, the cost of youth sports has gone up 46% over the last three years. The average cost for a club sport exceeds $5,000.
“As these big for-profit companies get more power, it’s made it harder and harder for the good organizations like the YMCA, the Boys & Girls Clubs,” he said. “They are now facing even more pressure to deliver these services and keeping costs down.”
Middletown YMCA CEO Ross Miceli said he’s focused on keeping youth sports affordable for local families. He wants to give kids an option to keep playing instead of getting priced out.
“We have a no-turn-away policy here at the Y,” he said. “We will continue to uphold that policy and make sure that we stay ahead. And that’s our job. We want more families to know about our scholarship assistance.”
Let Kids Play Act is a bicameral bill, being carried in the Senate by Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy.