Fanatics is unsure whether its three-day Fanatics Fest sports festival in Manhattan this weekend will break even. Last year’s event lost millions.
But the company is OK with lackluster immediate returns if the lineup of “cool s—” hooks sports fans into their sprawling business ecosystem, according to Fanatics Events CEO Lance Fensterman.
“You create evangelists and a valuable audience,” Fensterman said in a phone interview.
Fanatics Fest, which is back for its second year, has become a key part of the brand’s mission to enter cultural conversations in all aspects of sports, including sale-generating areas such as apparel, trading cards and sports betting.
While related Fanatics marketing ploys such as “hype drops” appeal to first-time customers within the designer clothing market, the in-person New York event reaches a broader swath of people. Last year’s debut event drew about 70,000 visitors and will bring similar fanfare this year with more than 100,000 expected to attend. Fanatics will blast out content from the event on social media—and prominent brands such as ESPN and Bleacher Report will likely amplify the highlights, too, as they have done for past Fanatics get-togethers.
There is a star-studded lineup of more than 400 athletes, celebrities and influencers set to appear at this year’s Fanatics Fest who will help create viral moments. Attendees can see LeBron James doing a live taping of his Max talk show The Shop: Uninterrupted or watch boxing champ Canelo Alvarez promote his next undisputed title fight. Last year, Tom Brady casually spoke with card collectors and played catch with some young fans.
“A lot of the intrigue is the mystery—what’s it going to be?” sports business reporter and Cllct founder Darren Rovell said in a phone interview. “People [usually] don’t get to see these athletes talk in person. It’s the greatest assembly of athletes under one roof.” Rovell, who plans to have one of about 250 booths set up at this year’s event, said even if Fanatics Fest is a money loser in the beginning, the brand-building potential is worth it for the multi-billion dollar company.
“You have kids in the New York and New Jersey area who feel like they have to go,” he said.
This year the event is doubling down on pro athletes, panels and merch collabs. Organizers are also expanding the slate of live podcasts with Johnny Manziel’s Glory Daze and Jeff Teague’s 520 Podcast set to take the stage, for example.
Fensterman said that after the inaugural Fanatics Fest finished in the red last year, the company could break even in 2025 because of an attendance increase. Profit is not the priority, however. “If we create amazing experiences for fans, we’ll sort out the rest,” Fensterman said. “The business will make sense.”
Fanatics founder and CEO Michael Rubin recently made a similar statement, telling Boardroom CEO Rich Kleiman in a Q&A that Fanatics Fest will never be a “money-maker” for the sports apparel giant.
“It is the hardest thing I do each year by a mile,” Rubin said. “Like, forget about everything we talked about in our three core businesses … This is the hardest thing by far and away, you know, organizing hundreds of athletes, celebrities, and artists, 100,000-plus fans, all these sports properties together.”
Fanatics Fest serves as the ultimate entrée into Fanatics’ core business of commerce, collectibles and betting; for example, rapper Jay-Z is set to relaunch his 40/40 Club pop-up space in partnership with Fanatics Sportsbook & Casino. Sports apparel brand Mitchell & Ness, collectives company Topps and headwear retailer Lids—all owned by Fanatics—will also be well represented throughout the weekend with various activations, exclusive product offerings and giveaways. The event provides value for Fanatics’ partners such as Nike, Dick’s Sporting Goods and major sports leagues.
“It’s the only place where you get to see all of the parts of Fanatics on display in a really big way,” Fensterman said.
Rubin told Kleiman he wants his company’s commerce business to grow from $7 billion to $15 billon by 2030 focusing on licensed products. Rubin said they’re just scratching the surface in global soccer. Fanatics Fest, which is partnering with English Premier League and FIFA for the first time this year, could help move the needle by increasing exposure for its investments into those properties.
Fensterman said that Fanatics is learning from hiccups and mistakes made last year. After some friction with attendees last year, it has overhauled its autograph and photo processes and plans to prominently featuring dealers more with the site being built around them. It also has improved security measures so that athletes and other celebrities can smoothly transport from one area to another.
Fanatics is selling tiers of passes to Fanatics Fest ranging from $60 single-day adult tickets to VIP passes that cost in the thousands of dollars. It is also selling separate paid photo op and autograph opportunities. A complete schedule of the weekend is listed on the Fanatics Fest website.
