This is not generally true of big-money pro sports in the US. I'm unaware of any child leagues for the NFL (American / gridiron football), MLB (baseball), NBA (basketball), or NHL (hockey).

Pro soccer might have something, but it's also a rounding error in the American pro sports landscape.

Many US cities have children leagues for soccer, baseball, hockey, basketball, and sometimes football, in addition to the sports offerings at middle and high schools, though not affiliated with the professional leagues as far as I know. In a Pennsylvania city I worked for the recreation department which maintained soccer and baseball fields for children's leagues. The city near me now in Mississippi has soccer, baseball, and softball leagues for children. When I was in Texas, and also in Maryland, children would play ice hockey in leagues. I think it's harder for football because high schools already dominate the children league landscape, and also act as feeders for college football, but there are still some unaffiliated leagues for children around.

Kid leagues EXIST but they are not generally (or ever?) sponsored by the pro leagues. They're municipal, or private/parent funded, or whatever.

Gridiron football exists as Pop Warner or pee-wee leagues before the school systems take over in middle or high school. Little Leagues for baseball are typically shoestring operations sponsored by local businesses.

Where in Mississippi?

How is this relevant to the pro sports bring value through children's leagues discussion though? It appears these kids leagues exist completely independent of the professional teams, and would continue to do so even if the pro team left.

I might not quite have understood what I was commenting on.

> It's COVID times, c'mon. Most events have no audience.

Good point: Why use tax dollars to build a stadium that is going to be mostly empty?

Let's wait to see if interest in sports pick up again.