This Company Is Building a Hockey Empire. Many Say It’s Ruining Youth Sports.
The Corporate Consolidation of the Rink Black Bear Sports Group, a private equity-backed firm, has rapidly transformed the landscape of North American youth hockey by acquiring dozens of ice rinks across the United States since 2015. By centralizing management and standardizing operations, the firm aims to professionalize a sport historically dominated by fragmented, community-run non-profits,…