i9 Sports (consumer service)

A league of your own.

Franchise Opportunity

This advertisement is not an offering. An offering can only be made by a prospectus filed first with the Department of Law of the State of New York and/or respective filing states. Such filing does not constitute approval by the Department of Law.

i9 Sports1463 Oakfield Drive, Suite 135

Brandon, FL 33511P (813) 662-6773F (813) 571-9773

www.abasports.comE [email protected]

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I9sports fran. bro 12/16/02 10:30 AM Page 1

If you share my passion for amateur and youth sports, you’ll relate to my

motivation for starting i9 SportsSM*. Prior to i9, I had a fulfilling career in medical

equipment marketing and sales. While I loved my job, my mind kept drifting to

the playing field, and to the sports teams I was on or was coaching or managing.

Frustrated by the lack of organization and professionalism of the existing leagues,

I started my own men’s softball league. It was an immediate hit. While I intended

it just to be a sideline, it began to consume more and more of my time.

In the first years of my growing league, I realized three important things.

The first was that there’s a huge demand for quality sports programs for

both adults and youth athletes in almost every sport. The second was

that to run the highly efficient leagues I envisioned, I would need to apply

professional business principles and develop a state-of-the-art computerized

league management system. The third thing I realized was that running a

league, with the proper systems in place, could potentially be very rewarding

from both a personal as well as a business perspective.

In the years that followed, I worked with some of the top professionals in

the country to create the i9 Sports franchise program. It was designed from

the start to enable qualified individuals who share our passion for sports and

our vision for the future to start and manage their own sports leagues. We

developed the i9 Sports franchise program to provide the game plan and the

coaching they need to keep their business growing for years to come.

I consider myself a very fortunate person. The i9 concept has enabled me to do

what I love, while building equity for my future. Perhaps it can do the same for you.

Frank Fiume,

Founder and CEO

i9 Sports Corporation

Frank Fiume

If you love sports, you’ll love this business!

The Nine “I”s of i9 SportsSM

Every day we strive to be more:

Imaginative

Innovative

Interactive

Integrity-driven

Impassioned

Inspirational

Instructional

Insightful

Inclusive

Than yesterday

*“i9 SportsSM” is a trademark of i9 Sports Corporation.

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T he popularity—and potential—of amateur sports in the U.S. is mind-

boggling. There are an estimated 17 million amateur baseball players

and over 30 million amateur basketball players throughout the U.S.

Combined with other popular sports, and considering those who play multiple

sports, there are well over 200 million potential participants involved with

amateur sports.

The amateur sports league industry is highly fragmented, with most oper-

ating solely on a local level. Despite a rising demand, parks and recreation

departments have been forced to cut back on their organized sports, due to

shrinking budgets. And while non-profit associations provide rules, regulations

and officials, there is no strong national organization providing a professional

league administration system. Until now.

As an i9 Franchise owner, you’ll organize one or more leagues of 17 popular

sports best suited to your interests and the needs of your community. Your

i9 Sports league will provide its participants with a number of important advan-

tages, including:

• Internet registration of teams and players

• Schedules, locations and standings, available online

• League newsletter and news by email

• Optional team uniforms and team-branded merchandise

• Rules & regulations for their sport

• Trained umpires, referees and officials

• Awards banquets and special events

• High degree of customer service and professionalism

A business you can operate from home.

The i9 Sports franchise is perfectly suited to be

a home-based business. That helps keep your

initial investment—and ongoing expenses—

relatively low.

Choose the age division that suits you best.

With i9 Sports, you can choose

between youth or adult age

groups for your leagues,*

depending on your preference

and availability.

Choose the sport(s)

that suit you best.

Depending on which franchise option you choose

and availability in your market, you’ll be able to

choose one or more of 17 sports* to feature in

your league, including: Baseball, Softball,

Football, Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball, Golf,

Hockey, Tennis, Lacrosse, Gymnastics, Rugby,

Kickball/ Stickball/Wiffleball, Billiards and Bowling.

Multiple potential revenue centers.

i9 Sports locations are designed to generate

potential revenue from a number of sources,

including league fees paid by teams, tournament

fees, custom uniforms, sporting goods,equipment

and officiating fees.

Low overhead. No inventory.

There’s no inventory to purchase or

stock. Players can order sporting goods

or uniforms directly from your ecommerce-

enabled website, and goods are drop

shipped directly from the distributor.

Streamlined administration. Through

computerized systems and home office support,

the i9 franchise is designed to free your time for

building your league, not filling out paperwork.

Fully computerized business. Nearly every

aspect of your league can be managed online,

through our secure i9 extranet. That gives you the

flexibility to track and manage your business from

remote locations…or even while traveling.

A program designed to meet your goals.

you’ll bring professionalism to amateur sports.

With i9 SportsSM,

* Subject to availability in your territory.


Securing your fields

An important component

of starting a league is

securing, scheduling and

negotiating fees for high

quality fields for your games.

Using your i9 training, you’ll

meet with the parks and

recreations departments,

municipality and other local

contacts to arrange for

convenient playing areas at

reasonable rates for your

league games.

Recruiting your teams

While you can generally

start your league with

as few as 6–10 teams, your

goal will be to sign up as

many teams as possible for

your new i9 Sports league.

Teams are encouraged to

sign up online with credit card

payments on your secure,

ecommerce-ready website.

Your i9 website is designed

to boost enrollment, enabling

partial teams and available

individual players to connect

online.

Providing great service

The i9 Sports franchise

is clearly a service busi-

ness. Once your league

season is launched, you will

act in a support role to help

maximize the enjoyment and

efficiency of league play. You

can keep players posted with

news, awards, team and indi-

vidual achievement through a

templated i9 email newsletter

and web postings.

Running special events

Special events during and

after your regular league

season can provide an addi-

tional potential revenue center

and marketing opportunities.

Additionally, league banquets,

team parties and awards cer-

emonies can help distinguish

your i9 league, enhancing

both league enjoyment and

future participation.

Growing your business

One of the great things

about the i9 Sports

franchise is that it’s designed

for ongoing, incremental

growth. Your goal will be to

use the i9 methodology to

build your team and player

participation from one year to

the next. With the option of

adding other sports, you can

encourage year-round partici-

pation in a variety of sports

activities.

i9 Sports provides the game plan for growth.

Promoting your league

Using the i9 strategies and

customized marketing

materials, you’ll generate

awareness and excitement

about the launch of your new

i9 league. Strategies include

public relations, radio and

print advertising, community

marketing, direct mail, online

promotions and cross-

promotion with sports-related

businesses.

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As an i9 Sports SM franchise owner, you’ll receive the guidance, the training and the support you

need to get your business up and running quickly and efficiently. And once your new business is

established, advice and guidance is always just a phone call away. i9 franchise support includes:

Expert coaching every step of the way.

The foundation of the i9 SportsSM franchise program

is the powerful Internet-based extranet tool that

enables you to manage many aspects of your league

right from your desktop.

I9 Franchise compliance program This program

provides you with a customized, step-by-step guide

to setting up and launching your new sports league.

Online league registration program League partici-

pants are directed to register online for all leagues,

events, clinics and tournaments. Teams are automati-

cally placed in a division with like teams, and games

are scheduled automatically. Payments are made via

credit card and provided to franchisees via electronic

funds transfer.

Franchisee Administration area The password-

protected administrative web page enables franchise

owners to see and manage league revenue and team

registrations, league news, updated league standings

and retail sales. They can build and implement email

marketing campaigns, manage their contacts and cus-

tomize their own personalized league website.

Custom website & online store As an i9 franchise

owner, you’ll also receive a personalized web page for

your league, which provides players and teams with

up-to-date standings and information, and represents

potential retail and advertising banner sales. You will be

able to upload pictures and text to create timely and

fun communications with league teams and players.

With i9 SportsSM’ web-based software. League management is a slam-dunk

Startup support• Guidance in all phases of establishing

your business

• Startup materials package

• Grand Opening promotional guidance

• On-site training at time of opening

Comprehensive training• Complete headquarters training

• Refresher training

• Hands-on field training

• Sales and marketing training

• Administration and reporting training

Sales & marketing support• Use of i9 name and logo

• Promotional strategies for generating leads

• Website customized for your franchise

• Library of promotional materials, including ads,direct mailer, flyers, radio commercials and more

• Marketing, advertising and public relations guidance

• Promotion through corporate website

Exclusive programs • Use of proprietary management

& marketing software

• Exclusive territory for your age group/sports categories

• Participation in systemwide events, when available

• Negotiated rates and terms for products & services

• Use of Confidential Operations Manual

Ongoing support • Scheduled visits from field support

• Phone support from home office

• Administrative & billing services

• Revenue collection & commission payment services

• Monthly newsletter and updates

• Systemwide meetings and conferences

e-commerce team uniforms


They say there are three types of people in busi-

ness: those who watch things happen, those

who make things happen and those who wonder

what just happened. The i9 Sports franchise is for

those who are ready to make things happen. It’s for

those who are ready to leave their daydreams of

business ownership on the sidelines and get into

the game. It’s designed for those with the ambition

and the energy to apply the i9 tools, training and

systems to create a sports league that provides last-

ing value for its players, its coaches, its community

and ultimately, for themselves.

If you share the i9 passion for sports, commit-

ment to excellence and vision of the future, fill out

and submit the enclosed “Request for Information”

form. Or give us a call today. Because while the

potential of the i9 concept may be unlimited,

exclusive territories aren’t.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

It’s no spectator sport.

The i9 SportsSM franchise:

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i9 Sports (consumer service)