SportsEngine Play Streaming Available to Enhance Participation for More Than 25 Million Young Athletes, Their Families and Friends Who Attend Events at SFC-Managed Facilities Each Year
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (June 20, 2024) – SportsEngine Play, NBC Sports Next’s newly launched and first all-in-one youth and amateur sports streaming platform, and the Sports Facilities Companies (SFC), the nation’s leading operating partner for sports, recreation, and event facilities, announced today a multi-year video streaming partnership, created to enhance the experience of more than 25 million young athletes, their family and friends who attend tournaments at SFC-managed sports venues each year.
The partnership signals SportsEngine Play’s significant entry into the facilities market, providing game and event streaming opportunities for SFC’s 60-plus managed venues and creating additional economic impact for communities, which currently exceeds more than $500 million each year. According to the Sports Events & Tourism Association, the sports tourism sector in the U.S. generated a total economic impact of $128 billion in 2023.
“We’re extremely excited about this next phase of our growth and honored to start the journey with the Sports Facilities Companies, the industry’s leader in facilities management,” said Will McIntosh, President, NBC Sports Next. “We’re building an infrastructure to support the youth and amateur sports industry and making it possible for venues to deliver on our promise to young athletes and their families that their most important moments in competition and performance will never be missed.”
With more than 60 properties across the U.S. currently in its portfolio, SFC plans, develops and manages the nation’s premier sports, recreation and events venues, from community aquatic centers to stunning multi-sport tournament destinations. Through its managed properties, SFC helps municipalities and real estate developers across the U.S. generate an average of more than $500 million in direct economic impact, including more than 485,000 room nights booked across its portfolio each year. Some of the venues in SFC’s portfolio include Hoover Met Complex (Hoover, Ala.), Publix Sports Park (Panama City Beach, Fla.), Fort Bend County Epicenter (Rosenberg, Texas), and Cedar Point Sports Center (Sandusky, Ohio).
SportsEngine Play will offer each SFC-managed venue an easy, integrated camera setup for all game environments, capturing every angle of the competition and seamlessly integrating the video with its streaming platform, delivering professional and immersive coverage of every game. A few of the multi-sports venues expected to be among the first to install cameras include Emerald Acres Sports Connection in central Illinois; AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk, opening this fall in Overland Park, Kansas; WYO Sports Ranch, a state-of-the-art sports facility in Casper, Wyo.; Morristown Landing, a sports, fitness and acquatic center located in Morristown, Tenn.; and Sand Mountain Park, a 130-acre sports, leisure and wellness complex in Albertville, Ala.
“Our partnership with SportsEngine Play represents our commitment to operating the highest-performing sports and events properties in the country,” said Mike Kelly, Executive Vice President of Operations, SFC. “We are investing in technology and solutions so our team can serve more and serve better.”
As part of SportsEngine’s leading youth sports technology brands, SportsEngine Play launched in October 2023 as the first-of-its-kind subscription streaming service for amateur sports, connecting millions of young athletes and their families with the sports they love. The platform provides organizations, leagues and athletes the ability to capture and stream video of sports events on just about any device – from sophisticated AI cameras mounted at sporting venues to personal smartphones, and features editing tools for reel and highlight creation. SportsEngine Play also is constantly adding new competitive content through the acquisition of streaming rights to elite amateur sports that will entertain and inspire young athletes.
In addition to live and on-demand event streaming, SportsEngine Play’s All Access subscription tier offers a growing library of video that provides young athletes and their families with everything they need to know about their sports of choice, from rules and equipment to training and skills to mental health, fitness and more. The plan features exclusive instructional videos from world-class athletes like Michael Phelps, Larry Fitzgerald, Shaun White, Kerri Walsh Jennings, and others, who offer video collections featuring tips and techniques highlighting their training regimens, as well insight on leadership and mental health.
About NBC Sports Next
NBC Sports Next is a subdivision of NBC Sports and home to all NBCUniversal digital applications in sports and technology within Golf and Youth & Recreational Sports. Known for its sports technology product innovation, NBC Sports Next equips more than 30 million players, coaches, athletes, sports administrators and fans in 40 countries with more than 25 sports solution products, including SportsEngine, an industry leader in youth sports club, league and team management technology and youth sports editorial content; SportsEngine Play, a first-of-its-kind subscription streaming service for capturing and viewing live and on-demand video of youth and amateur sporting events, and offering one of the industry’s most comprehensive collection of player development and training content; GolfNow, the leading online tee time marketplace and provider of golf course operations technology and services; and GolfPass, the ultimate golf membership that connects golfers to exclusive content, tee time credits, coaching, tips and other benefits. NBC Sports Next is fueled by its mission to innovate, create larger-than-life events and connect with sports fans through technology to provide the ultimate in immersive experiences.
About Sports Facilities Companies
The Sports Facilities Companies (SFC) are the Nation’s leading resources for the management and development of sports, recreation, wellness, and events facilities. As a turn-key solution for community leaders and developers alike, SFC services span the gamut of sports and recreation needs from sports tourism & recreation master planning, program planning, and feasibility through professional facility management services. Our 50+ managed venues and 2500+ team members, represented by the SF Network, welcome more than 25 million guest visits and produce over $500 million in economic impact each year. To learn more, please visit SportsFacilities.com and theSFnetwork.com.
-NBC Sports Next-