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Company Banking On Youth Sports
Tribune photo by GREG FIGHT
Frank Fiume started i9 Sports, which franchises youth sports leagues, after moving to Brandon in 1996.
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Published: June 25, 2008
BRANDON - Who knew that kiddie flag football could become big business?
I9 Sports, a Brandon youth sports company dreamed up by a 39-year-old sports fanatic, has grown to 115 franchises in 28 states. On Saturdays, from Florida to Hawaii, franchisees erect canopies with the i9 Sports logo on city and church sports fields. They hold flag football, soccer, cheerleading and other contests for thousands of youngsters.
Company founder Frank Fiume is preparing for a big growth spurt. He recently added employees in marketing and franchise support, and purchased a second office condo in Brandon to train franchisees in how to run their businesses.
One of Fiume's biggest challenges is convincing potential franchisees - who purchase the right to run i9 leagues in their community - that someone can make a living at this. People assume that youth sports organizations are all nonprofit, and, in fact, many are run by the YMCA or nonprofit community groups. But sometimes there are people behind the scenes who draw a paycheck, Fiume said.
"They don't understand, 'Hey, wait a minute, you can actually make money doing this,'" he said.
I9 Sports' roots go back to an adult softball diamond on Long Island, N.Y. Fiume had been in medical sales in the mid-1990s but got so wrapped up in his softball league that he began organizing and running softball leagues for a living, launching a full-time business called ABA Sports. After he and his wife moved to the Brandon area in 1996, he continued running the Long Island leagues and expanded his company by starting youth flag football leagues in the Tampa Bay area.
In 2002, he named his growing business i9 Sports, with the goal being to sell franchises to business people. The company's name refers to nine virtues that start with the letter "i," including "innovative" and "imaginative."
With 115 franchises operating today, i9 Sports appears to have grown rapidly. But, Fiume insists that the growth has been methodical and that he has turned down many more potential franchisees than he has accepted.
Buying a franchise requires an initial investment of $45,900 to $86,900, which includes the initial franchise fee and other startup costs, according to the franchise disclosure document that i9 gives to potential franchisees. For their money, they receive the right to operate in a geographic territory. A franchisee also pays recurring royalties and a percentage of revenue toward a national brand fund.
The average franchisee had annual revenue of $149,099, according to the document. Although that's relatively low, Fiume said his company is young and that his typical franchisee has been in business about a year. Franchisee revenue can be expected to grow as they expand their leagues, he said.
Today, i9 Sports owns two office condos in a business park on Kings Avenue in Brandon. It has 14 employees and expects to bring in up to $3.5 million in revenue this year. The company's franchisees should bring in a combined $11 million, Fiume said.
Parents are the ultimate customers, and to continue i9's growth, Fiume must persuade them that they should enroll their children in his sports leagues instead of more-established leagues run by the YMCA or other community groups. One of his biggest tasks is explaining to parents what i9 is.
He has crafted i9's leagues to be family-friendly, even if they aren't as hypercompetitive as other leagues. Children are guaranteed to play in games instead of sitting on the sidelines, there are fewer obnoxious parents yelling at referees, and all games and practices take place on Saturdays, Fiume said. The enrollment fee is $125.
As it grows, the company's franchisees could face challenges in securing athletic fields for their expanding leagues. In Hillsborough County, for example, the county operates about 230 sports facilities but doesn't rent them to for-profit leagues, said Nilo Menendez, Hillsborough's manager of athletic services. An adult for-profit league occasionally asks to rent the fields, but the county restricts their use to nonprofit groups to maximize public access, Menendez said.
Two i9 Sports franchisees, David Ross of Bergen County, N.J., and Craig Magram of Gwinnett County, Ga., said securing fields has not been a problem.
Magram said people always "scratch their heads" about what he does for a living. They know he is busy on Saturdays running the games, but they can't figure out what he does the rest of the week. He tells them he is out marketing his sports programs.
"A lot of people are surprised because you don't think that you can make a living doing it," Magram said.
Reporter Michael Sasso can be reached at msasso@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7865.
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