The $432B Sporting Goods Economy, A 26M-Pixel Stadium Pitch, and KD’s VC Playbook

Good morning, ! This week we’re diving into the $432B industry of sporting goods with North America leading the world with a $173B regional TAM. Shanghai leads the ranking of the top esports cities in the world. The Oakland A’s are using a high-tech "Immersive Cube" to virtually sell the Las Vegas stadium experience and premium hospitality deals long before construction finishes.

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DATA DIVE

The Performance Economy Hits Its Stride

The sporting goods market is settling into its post-pandemic reality—and it looks a lot like disciplined growth. Global sales hit $432B in 2025, tracking toward $548B by 2029, with CAGR cooling to ~6%. Translation: no more rebound sugar highs.

Regionally, North America remains the anchor ($173B), while Asia–Pacific ($119B) keeps compounding on participation and tech adoption. The surprise? Latin America, clocking a projected 12% CAGR, the fastest of any region.

Category-wise, equipment dominates with 62% market share, powered by racket sports, hybrid training, and connected gear. But growth alone isn’t enough. Only 3 in 10 players have expanded both revenue and margins since 2018.

Bottom line: In 2025, profitable growth is the real competitive sport.

Read the Full Report HERE

MEDIA & SPORTS

The Next $100M Fan Club

Soccer fandom in the U.S. is no longer just a niche—it’s a brand marketer’s jackpot. As the FIFA World Cup 2026™ approaches, 62% of soccer fans and even 11% of non-sports fans say their interest in the sport is rising. Translation: your next consumer might be watching from a fan zone in Kansas City.

The U.S. fanbase is young (76% are Millennials/Gen Z), diverse (22% Hispanic), and rich-ish (34% earn $100K+). They also care who pays for the jerseys, with 3 in 4 fans saying they’re more likely to buy from World Cup sponsors. Brands looking to win hearts (and wallets) should act before the starting whistle. (More)

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INVESTOR CORNER

Ace High Sports Secures £600K to Launch Sports-Card Game Studio

In a genre mash-up that sounds straight out of a venture pitch deck, Ace High Sports just raised £600K to build a new category of sports-led video card games.

The Bournemouth-based startup pulled in £300K in equity funding from the British Business Bank’s South West Investment Fund, managed by The FSE Group, with the rest coming from private investors and the UK Games Content Fund. The capital will back Ace High’s first release, Touchdown Poker—a hybrid of Texas Hold’em mechanics and American football tactics—set for 2026.

CEO Mike Hawkyard calls the studio’s approach “instantly familiar yet completely fresh,” targeting global players who want faster, more strategic sports gaming experiences across PC and mobile.

Why it matters: With the $600B video game market by 2030 in sight, sports-themed mobile games remain an under-explored growth vertical. By fusing sports IP with card-based mechanics, Ace High is carving out a niche that sits between casual sports gaming and strategy fans—fertile ground for monetization through IAP, licensing, and tournaments.

As funding tightens for creative startups, regional investment vehicles like the South West Fund are proving to be high-leverage catalysts for IP-driven gaming plays with global upside. (More)

ENTREPRENEURS

Kevin Durant — From NBA Superstar to Strategic Investor

Kevin Durant didn’t wait for retirement to start his second act. While still piling up points on the court, he’s been quietly building a serious business portfolio off it.

In 2017, Durant co-founded Thirty Five Ventures (35V), turning athlete access into early-stage deal flow. The strategy: write smart checks, early. A ~$1M bet on Postmates reportedly turned into ~$15M after Uber’s acquisition. A stake in Coinbase came well before crypto dinner-party chatter. Add positions in Robinhood, Acorns, Whoop, and Lime, and you get a VC portfolio that looks less “celebrity investor” and more “seasoned operator.”

Durant has also leaned into sports ownership, with minority stakes in Philadelphia Union (MLS) and Paris Saint-Germain, plus media via Boardroom, which sits at the intersection of sports, money, and culture.

The takeaway: Durant isn’t chasing headlines — he’s compounding them. (More)

TOGETHER WITH SYNTHFLOW

A Framework for Smarter Voice AI Decisions

Deploying Voice AI doesn’t have to rely on guesswork.

This guide introduces the BELL Framework — a structured approach used by enterprises to reduce risk, validate logic, optimize latency, and ensure reliable performance across every call flow.

Learn how a lifecycle approach helps teams deploy faster, improve accuracy, and maintain predictable operations at scale.

Read the Full Guide

TECH & INFRASTRUCTURE

Las Vegas' Virtual Ballpark Bet

The Oakland A’s aren’t waiting for their Vegas stadium to be built—they’re already selling the experience.

Eight miles from the construction site, the club’s new Ballpark Experience Center features an “Immersive Cube” that replicates virtual reality without a headset. Outfitted with 26 million pixels and built in Unity, the Cube surrounds visitors with floor-to-ceiling LED panels, letting them tour suites, view from the mound, or hover above the Strip—all by tapping an iPad.

This isn’t just eye candy. It’s a sales engine, designed by Advent to convert high-touch storytelling into premium hospitality deals. Fans can preview their seat, view custom renderings, and relive franchise history—like tapping a bat to summon footage of Dallas Braden’s perfect game.

The A’s are betting big that tech-driven engagement will bridge the franchise’s past and Vegas’ future. In a city defined by spectacle, experiential selling is more than marketing—it’s infrastructure.

Why it matters: As sports real estate grows more capital-intensive, immersive preview centers offer a low-lift way to boost pre-sale conversions and justify premium pricing. This is infrastructure-as-content—and it's likely to spread. (More)

eSPORTS

The Ecosystem Gap Widens

Tencent’s latest Global Esports Industry Development Report reads less like a popularity contest and more like an operating manual. Shanghai (90.1), Los Angeles (87.2), and Seoul (85.7) top the global rankings by combining viewership, infrastructure, policy support, and cultural gravity—the full stack, not just fandom.

The real takeaway isn’t who’s winning, but why. Asian megacities dominate on infrastructure depth, talent pipelines, and large-scale event execution, while Los Angeles stands apart for content production, entertainment crossover, and global brand monetization. Passion is table stakes; ecosystem completeness is the moat.

Meanwhile, cities like Riyadh, Singapore, and Manila are closing the gap fast, fueled by policy incentives, capital inflows, and young demographics. Esports leadership is no longer inherited—it’s being engineered. (More)

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