This Company Is Building a Hockey Empire. Many Say It's Ruining Youth Sports. | WSJ (Level 1)

Many kids in the United States love to play ice hockey. In the past, local groups ran youth hockey. Parents volunteered to help. Now, a big company called Black Bear Sports Group is buying many ice rinks. Black Bear says it is saving old rinks. They spend money to fix broken buildings. They also start their own hockey teams and sell team shirts. However, many parents are not happy. They say the company makes hockey too expensive. For example, one season of hockey went from $2,000 to $2,500. Some local hockey groups had to leave their home rinks because Black Bear took over. Now, the government is looking into this problem. Some leaders want to stop big companies from making too much money from youth sports. They want to make sure sports stay fun and cheap for kids.