Golf, tennis, squash, and padel transcend sports. While sometimes pigeonholed as games of skill or leisure, they are experiences that connect people across generations, professions, and geographies. They create networks, communities, and cultures. And now, they are creating new investment frontiers.
For players, these sports teach rhythm, focus, and discipline. For fans, they offer a blend of heritage and innovation. For investors, they have become an emerging arena where passion meets portfolio strategy.
Across golf, tennis, squash, and padel, private equity along with institutional investors are committing capital to facilities, media rights, technology, and lifestyle brands. What began as “passion investing” has blossomed into a legitimate asset class with measurable cash flows and strong cultural resonance.
A Growing Field: From Greens to Courts
Each of these sports presents a distinct investment opportunity.
Golf remains the anchor of traditional sports investing. Its economics tie together real estate, hospitality, and technology. Simulator golf and virtual platforms attracted more than 1.2 billion dollars in funding last year. Golf resorts and club networks are being structured like REITs, converting recreation into recurring yield.
Tennis continues to globalize via data analytics, digital fan platforms, and performance tech. From AI-based training systems to fan engagement startups, the sport is becoming both smarter and more scalable.
Padel, one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, is exploding across Europe, the Middle East, and North America. Courts are appearing in urban neighborhoods, private clubs, and repurposed warehouses. The International Padel Federation expects global participation to eclipse 30 million players by 2026. Private investors are already backing padel club franchises, equipment manufacturers, and tournament platforms.
Squash is experiencing a quiet revival. Once viewed as niche, it is reemerging through fitness integration, boutique club concepts, and smart-court technologies. Its addition to the 2028 Olympics has renewed investor attention. For developers, squash offers a high-density, lower-footprint alternative to larger leisure assets.
Together, these sports form the backbone of a new experiential asset class that blends lifestyle, community, and capital.
The Court and the Course as Capital Classrooms
Golf and racket sports have long served as informal classrooms for business and investing. They are environments where relationships deepen and trust is built. In 2025, that cultural function is morphing into a financial one.
Golf simulator companies, padel operators, and racket-tech startups are raising institutional capital. Pickleball and padel leagues now command nine-figure valuations. Tennis academies and golf training centers are partnering with analytics firms and wearable technology brands.
It is not just nostalgia driving the money. It is opportunity.
These sports share three traits that investors value:
- Scarcity: limited clubs, courses, and venues.
- Community: loyal, high-engagement audiences.
- Durability: long-term participation and generational appeal.
Participation in racket sports has risen nearly 40 percent since 2020, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. Golf rounds in the United States reached a 20-year high in 2024. The substantial growth of padel and the resurgence of squash are expanding this momentum into new demographics and markets.
Where Dakota Fits In
At Dakota, we see this convergence every day.
Our Marketplace platform connects fundraisers and investors across sectors, and sports are increasingly part of that conversation.
Private equity groups are exploring sports-tech and experience-based funds. Developers are financing new racquet clubs, padel franchises, and golf resorts. Venture investors are capitalizing on opportunities in performance data and digital engagement.
What once necessitated months of networking, research, and cold outreach can now happen in days through curated, accurate investor intelligence.
The "19th hole" conversation has moved online.
And it is far more efficient.
From Trophy Assets to Playable Investments
The narrative has changed. Owning a sports team, a training company, or a golf resort is no longer a vanity purchase. It is a vital part of a diversified strategy that can help bolster returns. The same institutional rigor that once applied only to infrastructure or media now governs leisure, wellness, and performance investments.
For athletes, entrepreneurs, and investors alike, this is a potentially transformative and lucrative moment. The business of play is a burgeoning asset class.
For Dakota, we offer an opportunity to help connect capital and creativity faster than ever before.
Actionable Insights for GPs and Allocators
1. Watch the “Wellness-to-Wealth” crossover. Investors are seeking exposure to fitness, recovery, and social-sport assets that behave like consumer tech or hospitality rollups.
2. Track participation data, not just valuations. Growth in padel and simulator golf signals where downstream deal activity is likely to emerge.
3. View sports as infrastructure. Think beyond teams. Focus on data layers, club development, and experience ecosystems.
4. Use data to shorten fundraising cycles. Platforms like Dakota Marketplace allow faster matching between sports managers and capital allocators.
5. Follow the investor-athlete flywheel. Athlete-led funds are reshaping how sports capital flows. Partnering early with these entities brings both credibility and momentum.
Key Investors Defining the Sports Capital Landscape
The roster of investors entering this market has broadened rapidly. Private equity and venture firms are proving that golf, padel, tennis, and squash are not fringe pursuits but scalable businesses.
- RedBird Capital Partners – Over 7.5 billion dollars in sports and media investments, including AC Milan, the YES Network, and TMRW Sports.
- Arctos Sports Partners – Holds minority stakes in more than 25 professional teams, with growing focus on golf and racket sports.
- CVC Capital Partners – Deep experience in league-level rights across Formula 1, La Liga, and the WTA.
- Sixth Street Partners – Owns a 380 million dollar stake in the San Antonio Spurs and is expanding into sports real estate and golf media.
- Sapphire Sport (Sapphire Ventures) – Investor in WHOOP, Oura, and Tonal, with a focus on human performance and data.
- SeventySix Capital – Early backer of sports analytics, gaming, and sports betting platforms.
- The Chernin Group (TCG) – Investor in Barstool Sports and Unrivaled Sports, bridging entertainment, community, and sport.
- Bruin Capital – Focused on sports marketing, performance technology, and digital fan engagement.
- 777 Partners – Building a global multi-club ownership model across soccer and emerging sports.
- Harbinger Sports Partners – Mark Cuban’s new fund investing in minority team stakes across major U.S. leagues.
These firms are collectively validating sports as a durable, diversified asset class that sits alongside private credit, infrastructure, and media in a GP’s portfolio mix.
Top 10 Sports Investing Trends to Watch
1. The Rise of Experiential Assets
Golf, padel, and tennis clubs are evolving into lifestyle hubs that mix sport, wellness, hospitality, and community, producing steady membership and real estate income.
2. Padel’s Global Expansion
Padel is becoming the “next pickleball,” but with more international scalability. Investors are backing franchises, equipment brands, and real estate developments tied to court construction.
3. Simulator Golf and Virtual Play
Indoor golf and racket-sport simulators are transforming urban recreation, creating new subscription and SaaS-like revenue models for investors seeking recurring yield.
4. Sports Real Estate as a Hybrid Asset
Facilities and clubs are being structured like REITs, blending hospitality economics with predictable returns — a natural fit for infrastructure and private credit funds.
5. Data and Performance Technology
Sports tech startups using AI, sensors, and analytics are becoming acquisition targets for both PE firms and athletic brands looking to monetize training data.
6. The Athlete-Investor Era
Athlete-led funds are blurring lines between endorsement and ownership, providing early access to high-growth deals and strong brand leverage.
7. Women’s Sports as an Alpha Source
Capital is flowing into women’s leagues and media properties, driven by surging viewership, sponsorship growth, and undervalued franchise pricing.
8. Multi-Club and Multi-Asset Ownership Models
Groups like 777 Partners and RedBird are proving that owning portfolios of teams or facilities can deliver diversification and operational synergies.
9. Fan Engagement and Digital Monetization
From streaming rights to fantasy platforms and micro-ownership tokens, the “attention economy” around sports is becoming a standalone investment vertical.
10. Health, Longevity, and Human Performance
Investments are increasingly linking sports with the broader wellness economy, from recovery tech to nutrition to cognitive training — turning athletic optimization into a scalable business theme.
Closing Thought
Whether it is a golf swing, a rally on the tennis court, a fast volley in squash, or the rhythm of a padel match, these sports reveal something universal. They mark a confluence of precision, resilience, and connection, the same elements that foster successful investing.
At Dakota, we are building tools for this new arena, one where relationships and returns move together. In 2025, capital does not only move in boardrooms. It moves where people play.
