Third Place VenturesTHIRD PLACE VENTURES

The work

We invest minority, majority, or partnership stakes.

Third Place Ventures is an asset-light acquisition and operating platform for community and sport assets. We target owner-operated businesses with under $1M of EBITDA.

What we buy

Swim clubs & swim schools

Year-round teams, lesson programs, Masters groups, summer leagues.

Gyms & training facilities

Boxing, martial arts, strength, racquet, and multi-sport build-outs.

Community facilities

Courts, rinks, field houses, and membership-driven neighborhood clubs.

Public facility management

City-owned pools and rec centers operated under contract or pilot.

Adjacent local businesses

The shop, the diner, the studio that anchors the same block.

Non-profit conversions

Board-run programs that need an operator and a clean structure.

What changes on day one

01

Take the admin off the deck

Billing, registration, payroll, insurance, scheduling, and the phone. Coaches coach.

02

Fix the money

Clean books, real pricing, collections, and a budget that survives a bad month.

03

De-risk the room

Longer leases, negotiated renewals, ownership of the facility where we can.

04

Fund the boring capex

Boilers, pumps, resurfacing, HVAC, mats, and the repairs that got deferred.

05

Modernize the front door

Online registration, a site that works, and communications that go out on time.

06

Pay people properly

Retention beats recruiting. Better comp for the coaches who hold the culture.

What we are not

No league. No top-down product.

We are not trying to launch a professional league or build a national brand before the businesses work. There's no LOVB-style playbook here. The plan is unglamorous: buy sound local businesses, operate them well, hold them, and let the community value compound where it already lives.

Our screen

  • Owner-operated, under $1M EBITDA
  • Real recurring revenue from members, seasons, or lessons
  • A community that would notice if it closed
  • A succession, lease, or capital problem we can solve
  • A seller who cares where the place ends up

Every acquisition is capitalized on its own terms, deal by deal.

Deal structures