WELLESLEY -Albany Road – Sports Complex Investor LLC in partnership with ESG Associates Inc. (“EDGE Sports Group”) acquired five professional multi-sport athletic facilities.
Each of the facilities in the Portfolio were acquired off-market, at an aggregate price of $86.25 million.
The sports complexes provide ice rinks, swimming pools, turf fields, basketball courts, strength and conditioning facilities, various physical therapy and medical practices, and pro shops / restaurants / concessions infrastructure, totaling approximately 445,000 square feet.
The portfolio was orchestrated by, and will be professionally managed by, EDGE Sports Group a full-service athletic facility consultant, developer, and manager with over 30 years of experience in the industry.
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Purchased were:
- Boston Sports Institute … a Steward Family Facility in Wellesley,
- Thayer Sports Center in Braintree,
- Foxboro Sports Center in Foxboro,
- Boch Ice Center in Dedham, and
- Hobomock Arenas in Pembroke.
The five facilities are well located across southern and western suburbs of Greater Boston, within I-495 and I-95, an affluent region known for its passion for youth sports, and youth hockey in particular.
The prime location of the facilities should further allow the Portfolio to capitalize on the explosive growth of the U.S. youth sports industry.
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Per Wintergreen Research, this industry had a market value of $22.2 billion in 2019, $27.0 billion in 2021 (post-Covid), and is expected to grow exponentially to $40.9 billion by 2025.
The product type offers diversification from traditional real estate cycles, and the Portfolio offers upside potential as several of the properties should benefit from a to-be-implemented, more institutional, bottom-line focused approach to management through a partnership with EDGE Sports Group.
The acquisition opportunities for each facility in the Portfolio were orchestrated in conjunction with Wellesley-based EDGE Sports Group www.edgesportsgroup.com, a full-service athletic facility consultant, developer, and manager with over 30 years of experience in the industry.
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EDGE was established to respond to the growing demand for recreational programming by municipalities, schools, and both private and non-private organizations; EDGE works in conjunction with these groups to create sustainable year-round athletic ecosystems to benefit users of all demographics.
Since its inception, EDGE has successfully designed, permitted, developed, and operate facilities throughout New England. In addition, EDGE Sports Group is also the operational manager of the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center and Essex Sports Center in Middleton, along with being the selected developer and operational manager for the Braintree Sports Center in Braintree and Mosaic Quarter Entertainment Complexes in Tucson AZ.
Given EDGE’s extensive history and track record in the entire life cycle of sports facilities in the New England (and specifically Massachusetts) market, Albany Road views EDGE as the best possible consulting and management partner for the Portfolio.
An appeal to the platform, from both firms’ perspectives, is that the athletic facility space offers diversification from traditional real estate cycles and product types. Tyler Savonen, Vice President at Albany Road, offered the following: “As an owner/operator of commercial real estate, the youth sports and recreation space is the ultimate panacea to any remote, work-from-home concern that has dominated real estate discussions since the onset of the pandemic, with no clear resolution to this day.
The partnership and relationship with EDGE creates the opportunity to diligently add further athletic facilities in the future, increasing the size and scale of the Portfolio.
Both Albany Road and EDGE will have a right of first refusal on each groups’ acquisition and/or or development of any additional athletic facility in the Northeast, which aligns all interests and provides Albany Road with the assurance that we will be given the chance to evaluate all opportunities in the region.
“We are thrilled to partner with Albany Road Real Estate Partners with their strong track record of recognizing opportunities ahead of real estate trends. This partnership will allow EDGE to not only more efficiently manage and grow this portfolio, but also pivot quickly to capitalize on future opportunities to create a growing ecosystem of family-oriented sports, recreation and entertainment centers” said Brian DeVellis, President of ESG Associates Incorporated.
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In full transparency, the video and press release were submitted to SOURCE media for publication
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