30% of high schools have canceled games for referee shortages, AB survey finds

Thirty percent of high school athletics departments say they’ve canceled games because they could not staff officials. None reported a surplus. That’s not a culture-war anecdote, it’s an operations constraint that hits schedules, transportation, facility utilization and gate revenue all at once.

Those figures come from Athletic Business’ 2026 State of the Industry survey for high school athletics, published Aug. 19. The same Athletic Business survey series, published Aug. 24 for college athletics, shows facility spending is still moving in higher ed: 45% of college respondents said a facilities project is underway or will break ground in 2026, even as many departments describe budget pressure and staffing churn.

Taken together, the surveys point to a practical shift for enterprise operators in K-12 districts, universities and municipal partners: the next round of venue upgrades is getting scoped around labor availability and multi-use flexibility, with procurement structures that reduce approvals friction. Lighting and audio vendors are leaning into that reality with service-style models and designs that cover both “experience” and compliance needs, according to interviews embedded in the Athletic Business reports.

Officials shortages are turning schedules into a supply chain problem

Athletic Business reports that 30% of high school respondents have canceled games due to referee shortages, and 65% said they experienced poor sportsmanship from student-athletes and fans in the past academic year. Participation, however, looks comparatively steady: 40% of respondents reported stable participation, and 55% reported only small fluctuations in the 6% to 25% range, according to the same survey.

For athletic directors and district operations leaders, the immediate implication is that “capacity” is no longer just field time and bus availability. It is also the availability of a specialized, distributed workforce that districts do not directly employ. According to Athletic Business, 30% of high school respondents say they have canceled games due to referee shortages.

That turns staffing shortages into a procurement and contracting question. Districts that share venues with parks departments and club programs often rely on predictable calendars to justify maintenance and capital projects. Unpredictable event volume makes it harder to defend investments that were sized for peak utilization.

College facilities are still building, but the revenue mix is not a bailout

On the college side, Athletic Business reports that respondents point to staffing as a major issue, including the hiring and keeping of specialists like athletic trainers and strength coaches, alongside transfer portal churn and budgeting pressures. Still, 45% said a facilities project is in progress or will break ground in 2026.

That college survey also indicates most athletics departments are not heavily supported by newer income streams: 83% of respondents said “non-traditional sources” account for under 25% of department revenue. Athletic Business defines those sources as digital media, corporate partnerships and special events.

For campus facilities and procurement leaders, that combination matters. It suggests projects moving this year are more likely being justified through core institutional priorities, donor funding, long-planned lifecycle renewals or competitive requirements, not a sudden surge in diversified cash flow. In practical terms, that tends to tighten scrutiny on operating cost, staffing and maintenance, the parts of a venue that keep costing money long after the ribbon cutting.

Capex approvals are pushing venues toward “outcomes” contracts and flexible systems

Athletic Business’ high school report includes an interview with Mike Lorenz, CEO of NGU Sports Lighting, who frames the adoption challenge for LED field lighting as a purchasing-model issue. Lorenz estimates nearly 80% of high school and municipal sports fields have not transitioned to LED and describes NGU’s “Performance Lighting Delivered” model as a fixed-cost approach with defined light levels and guaranteed energy consumption, as described by Athletic Business.

Whether or not buyers adopt that specific model, the direction is clear: when bond timelines, board approvals and capital ceilings slow modernization, vendors will offer structures that look more like managed services than a traditional bid spec. For operators, that raises familiar questions from other facility categories, HVAC, elevators, building controls, about measurement (what exactly is guaranteed), remedies (what happens when performance misses), and integration (how controls and metering data feed the district’s or campus’ existing systems).

Audio is being scoped the same way: as something the facility can run across many event types with fewer specialists. In Athletic Business’ college survey, Chris Barrow, a senior product manager at Biamp, argues that venues often under-design for flexibility, then struggle when a gym built for games is used for graduations or other events. He also ties audio investment to emergency mass notification requirements, citing NFPA 72 as a driver when designing systems that support both life safety and game-day use, as reported by Athletic Business.

The operational connection between these threads is staffing. When labor markets are tight for trainers, coaches, game officials and even part-time event staff, facilities that require constant tuning and specialist intervention become a hidden cost center. Flexible systems and performance-based contracts are an attempt to price that risk upfront instead of absorbing it across a season.

What to put into 2027 bid specs and renewals now

• For scheduling and facilities teams: quantify how many cancellations and reschedules are tied to officials, then model the labor and utilization hit. The AB survey’s 30% cancellation figure is a useful benchmark for stress-testing calendars (Athletic Business).
• For lighting procurements: require a plain-language performance schedule, including maintained light levels, energy measurement method, and service-response SLAs if considering fixed-cost or “delivered performance” models (Athletic Business).
• For AV and life safety: ask integrators to show how a proposed PA design supports mass notification requirements and intelligibility goals, and how presets handle non-game events like commencements without reprogramming (Athletic Business).
• For college project governance: when capital projects are moving despite limited non-traditional revenue share (83% under 25%), lock in post-opening OPEX assumptions early, including staffing, training and spares, because those are harder to fund later (Athletic Business).