Sports & Recreation

The sports franchise industry presents an exciting opportunity for aspiring business owners. From fitness centers to youth sports leagues, there are many opportunities for success.

Growth Potential of the Sports Franchise Industry

The sports and fitness franchise industry in the United States has seen tremendous growth over the years. From established names like Read more

The sports franchise industry presents an exciting opportunity for aspiring business owners. From fitness centers to youth sports leagues, there are many opportunities for success.

Growth Potential of the Sports Franchise Industry

The sports and fitness franchise industry in the United States has seen tremendous growth over the years. From established names like Gold's Gym, to emerging fitness and sports franchise brands such as Planet Fitness and Snap Fitness, the demand for sports-related services continues to rise. Whether it's group fitness or sports bar franchises, prospective business owners have ample opportunity to find a niche that suits their interests and goals.

Investing in a sports franchise allows you to tap into a passionate consumer base, whether it’s for martial arts, fitness centers, or even gaming franchises. Sports culture in cities like San Francisco, New York, and L.A. is deeply ingrained, making it a great market for those looking to build a successful business.

Benefits of Investing in a Sports Franchise

When you invest in a sports franchise, you’re buying into a proven business model with brand recognition and support. Key benefits include brand recognition, training and support. 

Evaluating Franchise Opportunities

When considering which sports or recreation franchise to invest in, conducting thorough market research is crucial. Here are a few steps to guide your evaluation process:

  • Understand the Competitive Landscape: Analyze the competition in your desired market.
  • Assess the Franchisor’s Reputation: Look into the franchise partners and track record of the brand you’re considering. Speaking with current franchise owners can provide valuable insight.
  • Review the FDD: Carefully go through the Franchise Disclosure Document to understand the financial performance, fees, and legal requirements.
  • Financial Aspects: Consider the profitability and ROI expectations by evaluating financial performance representations provided by the franchisor.

Key Considerations for Prospective Franchisees

Before investing in a franchise opportunity, there are several factors to consider to ensure you make an informed decision.

1. Initial Investment and Franchise Fees

The initial investment for a sports franchise can vary widely depending on the brand, location, and type of franchise. For example, a fitness franchise may have different franchise fees and ongoing costs compared to a sports bar franchise.

It's crucial to review the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) to understand the financial commitment, including any applicable pre-sale registration and disclosure requirements.

2. Location Requirements and Territory Exclusivity

Securing the right location is key to the success of your franchise. Understanding the market demand in your area is essential. Some franchises offer territory exclusivity, giving you the right to operate without competition in a specific region.

3. Training and Support

A key advantage of investing in a franchise is the training and support provided by the franchisor. From your first franchise to ongoing operational assistance, franchisors often provide a comprehensive training program to help you hit the ground running with confidence.

Start Your Franchise Journey 

With the support of a proven franchise system, extensive training programs, and ongoing operational support, you can build a successful business in this diverse industry. As the world’s largest membership organization for franchisors, franchisees, and suppliers, the International Franchise Association (IFA) is committed to providing guidance and support to help you navigate the process of becoming a franchise owner. Contact us today!

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Member since 2023

Purchase Green

Purchase Green is the highest-producing manufacturer and distributor of landscape and leisure products in the US. The organization provides nationwide distribution support that delivers a beautiful and broad product portfolio. Including artificial grass, putting greens and golf accessories, turf installation materials, artificial ivy, as well as modular tile for both indoor and outdoor multi-sport use-cases, retail or event operations, and residential applications.

Purchase Green’s fully integrated business solutions provide exceptional service and savings for their franchise partners. Paired with a successful business model that utilizes brick-and-mortar retail locations and local market distribution, the brand demonstrates outstanding potential for further expansion. Learn more today.
Lawn, Garden & Agricultural
Lawn, Garden & Agricultural
Green & Eco Friendly
Recreation: Equipment & Supplies
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Member since 2012

Aqua-Tots Swim School Holding, LLC

Since 1991, Aqua-Tots has been the industry leader in swimming instruction. We challenge the status quo in the swim industry, focusing on delivering top-quality swim lessons and providing our swimmers with Lessons for Life. Aqua-Tots Swim Schools offers year round, indoor swim lessons for children of all ages and abilities starting at 4 months. Aqua-Tots specializes in the following services: Small Group Swim Lessons (4:1 Ratio); Private Swim Lessons; Swim Club and Swim Team; Indoor Pool Parties; Adaptive Aquatics for Special Needs; Adult Swim Lessons.
Children's Services
Children's Services
Fitness & Gyms
Educational Products & Services
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Member since 2022

Boomers Parks

Boomers Parks is a privately held company based in Boca Raton, Florida. The company owns and operates 6 Boomers parks in California and Florida, Big Kahuna’s Water & Adventure Park in Florida and Big Kahuna’s Water Park in New Jersey. Boomers Parks was founded in 2014 to acquire and operate best-in-class out-of-home entertainment assets and is committed to excellence, to the communities they serve, and to delivering value that exceeds expectation.
Recreation: Exercise/Sports Ent./Products Recreation: Exercise/Sports Ent./Products
Recreation: Exercise/Sports Ent./Products
Children's Services
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Discover Strength

At Discover Strength, we believe you should be able to build the career you want while doing work that changes lives. Imagine owning a distinguished fitness business, backed by a market-tested business model, where efficient, 30-minute workouts are provided to your clients by expert, educated personal trainers. Imagine building a thriving business while doing work that you love, with people you love.
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Member since 2001

Gold's Gym

Build your legacy with the world’s most iconic and strongest fitness brand—Gold’s Gym. With over 96% brand awareness, Gold’s Gym sets the industry standard and continues to redefine strength training and fitness globally. Our legacy is unmatched, supported by a robust network of dedicated franchisees, all contributing to the strength of our brand. We offer franchisees multiple revenue streams, including membership, personal and group training, as well as clothing and supplement sales.
As we build strength for the future, our global presence spans 27 countries and is still expanding. Our contemporary redefinition of the brand focuses on strength and performance in every aspect, exemplified by our Berlin flagship location, which serves as an inspiration for the brand's future direction. This includes an outstanding personal training concept and a recently remodeled company gym featuring a state-of-the-art strength and functional training area that rivals the best college facilities.
Fitness & Gyms Fitness & Gyms
Fitness & Gyms
Recreation: Exercise/Sports Ent./Products
Health & Beauty
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Member since 2002

Pinch A Penny, Inc.

America's largest specialty retail swimming pool supply & services franchise with over 290 locations throughout AL, AZ, FL,GA, LA, NC, NV, OK, SC and TX.
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Maintenance, Cleaning & Sanitation
Recreation: Equipment & Supplies
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Member since 2008

Sky Zone

First on the scene and best in its class, Sky Zone created the world's first wall-to-wall trampoline park in 2004, bringing healthy, high-flying fun to people across the globe. Now you can be part of this international sensation. See how fitness, entertainment, and interactive technology create a powerhouse of an opportunity. Sky Zone has over 300 global locations in 16 international markets, generating more than $300 million in revenue.
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Fitness & Gyms
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Slick City

Slick City is the world’s first indoor slide and action sports park! Co-founded by a team of experienced family entertainment center operators and pioneering attraction designers, Slick City features a wide array of never-before-seen, stomach-dropping “waterless water slides”.

Our proprietary dry-slide technology (with over 25 patents filed or granted) is pushing the boundaries of physics and friction… and the all-ages appeal of our attractions is driving major park attendance!

Our first two corporate locations generated an average gross revenue of $385,000 per month and 47% EBITDA over their first 20 combined months of operations, and that success has inspired us to begin opening or developing a dozen more locations – and to officially begin franchising!

You can become part of a thriving and rapidly growing brand on the ground floor, with a unique, proprietary, and patented core product, an experienced franchise team, and a proven business model. Are you ready to join the Slick City movement? Read on to learn more:
Children's Services
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Recreation: Exercise/Sports Ent./Products
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Member since 2017

Stretch Zone Franchising, LLC

Stretch Zone is the first and largest franchisor in the stretching industry, and the only company that combines a proprietary stretch method with patented strapping equipment to improve muscle function throughout the body. Stretch Zone practitioners are certified and trained to follow specific methods to properly position, stabilize, isolate and manipulate muscles using powerful principles of neuromuscular behavior to improve range of motion, enabling efficient and effortless movement. Founded by Jorden Gold in 2004, Stretch Zone now has 355 locations open across 41 states nationwide.
Health & Beauty
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Fitness & Gyms
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All Results

Member since 2014

Snap Fitness, Inc.

Snap Fitness is a worldwide 24/7 gym franchise leader. With over 20 years in the industry, we provide our gym franchise owners with a strong support network that comes with a wealth of experience and in-market knowledge.

Owning your own gym franchise with Snap Fitness combines your passion for fitness with a fulfilling career on your terms.
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Health & Beauty
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Member since 2022

INFINITY, beyond fitness

INFINITY is more than a health & wellness studio franchise; it's a solution to the pressing issues of obesity and poor health that have become an epidemic in our society.

The abundance of information available has overwhelmed individuals, leaving them unsure of how to apply it effectively to improve their well-being. The desire to become a healthier version of oneself is universal, but the question remains: how can we achieve it?

INFINITY has developed a unique approach that addresses the fundamental dimensions of well-being: training, nutrition, and recovery. By focusing on these key aspects, members of all fitness levels and backgrounds can transform their lives for the better.

Our journey has just begun with our Flagship studio in Miami, FL. We are committed to providing our members with exceptional results, ensuring that everyone who becomes a part of the community experiences positive and lasting changes in their lives.

We care and we do it with love!
Fitness & Gyms Fitness & Gyms
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Weight Control
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Member since 2018

Athletic Republic

Sports Performance Training for the youth, teen, college or pro athlete looking to gain a step on the competition. High Intensity Interval Training for the active adult looking to get stronger, move better and stay healthier. Endurance Training for the runner, cyclist, and triathlete looking to achieve their personal best. Return 2 Play for the athlete who is looking to return to sport safely from an ACL or concussion. Over 2 million athletes trained and growing.
Fitness & Gyms Fitness & Gyms
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Children's Services
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Member since 2024

Send Me a Pro

Send Me a Pro is a Tech franchise business that you can own and operate in your local market that is ranked by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the fastest growing franchises.

It’s like Uber for in-home services. Everything from fitness & sports trainers, pet care providers, tutors, music instructors, childcare providers and much more.

Historically speaking, every category is a standalone franchise business model.

No one has ever aggregated multiple services with an Uber like experience under one franchise, until now.
Home-Based and/or Mobile
Fitness & Gyms
Health & Beauty
Other
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Member since 2007

Fitness Together

Founded in 1996, Fitness Together® was born out of a trainer’s need to take control of his future and fulfill his entrepreneurial desires. There was a great need to build a platform that afforded trainers and entrepreneurs the ability to be in control of their future, be valued by employees, and have a system to follow. Then, and still today, the Fitness Together® brand inspires its owners and clients to propel their future. With studios from coast to coast and over 20 years in business, Fitness Together® has established strong roots and delivers solid support, and an unique client experience.
Fitness & Gyms Fitness & Gyms
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Recreation: Exercise/Sports Ent./Products
Health Aids & Services
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Member since 2003

Woodhouse Spas

Founded in 2001, the Woodhouse Spa stands as the definitive destination driven by masters of mood care. Our intent is for every one of your guests to reconnect to their wellbeing and connect to the moment, their senses and themselves. Every treatment, detail, space and feature culminate in premier spa experiences, made in-house. Our belief: guests will always be our leading priority and we stand by our unwavering commitment to ensure everyone who walks through our doors receives the finest of experiences. To this end, we are dedicated to ensuring every spa facility and staff member strives to establish mood care at every touch point possible. Just for you.
Health Aids & Services
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Recreation: Exercise/Sports Ent./Products
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Member since 2024

MaxStrength Fitness

At MaxStrength Fitness we believe there is a better way to live. We understand what it feels like to worry about your health. We’ve created a powerful, no-sweat workout that helps you achieve your goals while still having time for everything you enjoy. With locations in Westlake and Willoughby, OH, we are northeast Ohio's premier fitness facility.
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Member since 2024

Burn Boot Camp

For women of all ages seeking empowerment, efficiency and inspiration in their daily lives, we deliver unlimited 45-minutes camps, complimentary child watch, one-on-one focus meetings and personalized nutrition guidance within a supportive community.

Our mission is to ignite global health transformation by empowering women to maximize the quality of their lives. We seek to build confidence, happiness and disciplines that transcend fitness into a community of mentally, emotionally and physically strong women. We vow to educate, influence and inspire every life we touch with knowledge in our heads, love in our hearts, strength in our bodies and passion in our souls.
Home-Based and/or Mobile
Fitness & Gyms
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Member since 2022

TGA

TGA Premier Sports is a leader in youth sports and the go-to for golf and tennis introductory and recreational programming. Its curriculum is designed to help young players progress their skills, develop a passion for playing and provide a pathway to achieving through sports. TGA’s player pathway drives repeat business and increases the value proposition for parents.

TGA Premier Sports was designed to ensure its students have the ability to grow with TGA for all of their youth sports needs from introductory programs at schools and community centers to recreational camps and leagues at golf courses and tennis facilities.

TGA’s low-investment franchise model provides entrepreneurial-minded individuals who are passionate about sports, community, and youth, the opportunity to build a business while making a positive impact.
Children's Services
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Recreation: Exercise/Sports Ent./Products
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Self Esteem Brands

Improving the self-esteem of the world. That’s the lofty goal of Self Esteem Brands, the parent company of Anytime Fitness (one of the largest fitness franchises in the world) Waxing the City, Basecamp Fitness, and The Bar Method. Self Esteem Brands is also the parent company to affiliates Healthy Contributions, and PumpOne. With the vision of improving the self-esteem of the world at its core, Self Esteem Brands seeks to enrich the lives of all of those who interact with our companies in nearly 40 countries on seven continents worldwide. That includes our consumers, vendors, employees, franchisees and the surrounding communities where more than 5,000 of our independently owned and operated franchises are located. Additionally, Self Esteem Brands is actively seeking other innovative business concepts to partner with and franchise.
Fitness & Gyms Fitness & Gyms
Fitness & Gyms
Health & Beauty
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Member since 2024

Skyhawks

Over the past 40 years, Skyhawks and SuperTots programs have welcomed over 2 million children in 27 states, teaching life lessons through sports and instilling a life-long passion for athletics and a healthy lifestyle. Kids 2 to 14 years of age can participate in 11 different sports across a variety of programs, including traditional summer camps, leagues, after-school programs, STEM Sports®, and classes. Skyhawks also offers independent franchise ownership opportunities for both brands in North America and overseas. For more information, please visit Skyhawks.com.
Children's Services
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Educational Products & Services
Recreation: Exercise/Sports Ent./Products
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Member since 2022

iFlex Stretch Studios

The newest concept from the founders of The Joint Chiropractic, iFlex Stretch Studios Franchise, offers its clients the best in professional assisted stretching for one affordable price in one beautiful location. Prime regional developer opportunities and franchise locations are available right now.

By making quality assisted stretching affordable and convenient for clients seeking pain relief and ongoing wellness, iFlex Stretch Studios is raising the bar for the stretching profession.
Health Aids & Services
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Fitness & Gyms
Retail Stores: Specialty
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