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The digital revolution opened up a universe of alternative for entrepreneurs. Hundreds of thousands will be reached in seconds with just some clicks. However in a screen-saturated world, folks crave one thing deeper: an actual connection.
“In comparison with a digital advertising and marketing marketing campaign, reside occasions might attain fewer folks,” says Fanatics Occasions CEO Lance Fensterman. “However digital is shallow. It is a fast scroll and transfer on. Dwell occasions are deep and immersive. They mean you can actually work together with followers and provides them experiences they’re going to always remember.”
Fensterman put that philosophy into motion in his first 12 months at Fanatics, main the launch of Fanatics Fest NYC in 2024, a three-day competition that blends sports activities, tradition and leisure into one in-person expertise. The inaugural occasion drew over 70,000 attendees final summer time.
This weekend, Fanatics Fest returns to the Javits Heart, with Fensterman on the helm as soon as once more, bringing collectively greater than 500 athletes, celebrities and artists — together with Tom Brady, LeBron James, Travis Scott and Kevin Hart — from June 20–22.
Fanatics Fest is an bold endeavor, but it surely’s in skilled fingers. Earlier than becoming a member of Fanatics, Fensterman served as president of ReedPop, the place he helped flip area of interest gatherings into main popular culture occasions like New York Comedian Con, ComplexCon and Star Wars Celebration.
“If you concentrate on the early days of Comedian Con, these have been individuals who did not have a spot,” Fensterman remembers. “We constructed this world the place they weren’t simply protected, however they have been stars.”
Associated: How World Digitization is Reworking Sports activities
Concentrate on the followers
The sports activities world brings its personal set of challenges, however Fensterman’s mission stays the identical: deliver folks collectively round a shared ardour.
“A constant theme all through my profession has been giving followers what they need,” he says. “When you are able to do that, you create moments and experiences they’re going to always remember.”
That fan-first mindset is particularly necessary when navigating the varied and sometimes divided panorama of sports activities tradition.
“Sports activities followers are tribal,” Fensterman says. “They group round particular groups or leagues.”
The self-described nerd likens it to Harry Potter homes, tight-knit communities with distinct identities. WWE followers, for instance, are fiercely loyal however could also be much less inclined to have interaction with followers of different sports activities.
“Once you take a look at different sports activities occasions, they’re largely organized by crew or sport,” he notes, pointing to NBA All-Star Weekend and the NFL’s Tremendous Bowl Expertise. “We have tried to zoom out and present folks there’s a complete world the place sports activities, leisure and tradition intersect—no matter tribe.”
Consider it like a music competition. You may present up for the headliner however find yourself discovering two side-stage acts you fall in love with — or years later, brag that you just noticed a breakout band earlier than they made it huge. That is the type of ambiance Fensterman needs to create at Fanatics Fest.
“What you are hoping is, somebody comes as a result of they wished to see the New York Greats panel, however then they rediscover their love of card gathering, or they catch a simulcast of the Membership World Cup and notice European soccer is definitely actually cool,” he says. “These sorts of cross-pollination moments are thrilling — when followers come for one factor and find yourself connecting with one thing solely new.”
Management the chaos
The flip aspect of planning one thing this all-encompassing is realizing when to cease.
“Fanatics is essentially the most bold group I’ve ever been round,” Fensterman says, noting he was nonetheless making tweaks to the schedule the morning of our interview. “However we now have to go pencils down sooner or later, as a result of we now have to bodily construct all of this.”
As soon as they’ve finalized the schedule, Fensterman and crew face the daunting problem of escorting A-Listers via a raucous crowd of avid sports activities followers with out incident.
“It is all about giving followers a frictionless expertise to entry the issues they love,” Fensterman says. “We do not need expertise or athletes sneaking via again corridors— we wish them shifting via the crowds. However the problem is, how do you do this with out somebody like LeBron James getting overrun?”
Irrespective of how meticulously Fensterman and his crew plan, the one approach to perceive the logistics of a behemoth like that is to expertise it. And after final 12 months, they know what to anticipate.
“My focus is on making new errors,” Fentsterman says. “It is about fixed innovation–fixing what did not work final 12 months, attempting daring new concepts and making a tradition the place folks really feel protected to experiment, take dangers and push boundaries.”
Elevate the expertise
This 12 months’s Fanatics Fest is about to be 4 instances larger than final 12 months’s occasion, with twice the employees — and with that progress comes a small bump in ticket costs. However Fensterman says the added price is nicely price it.
“We raised costs barely this 12 months as a result of we felt there was room to take action,” he explains. “Even throughout financial downturns, it is nonetheless an important worth. In comparison with the price of a film per hour, 10 to 12 hours of immersive leisure is an reasonably priced method for a household to spend the day doing one thing particular.”
Considered one of this 12 months’s largest additions is Fanatics Video games, the place a fortunate group of followers will get the once-in-a-lifetime likelihood to compete towards 50 of the most important names in sports activities and leisure in a sequence of ability challenges, with prizes as much as $1 million in money. The star-studded lineup contains LeBron James, Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, DJ Khaled, John Cena, Joe Burrow, Kai Cenat and plenty of extra.
Fanatics Fest 2025 is in contrast to something the sports activities world has seen. From its star-studded lineup, to its mission of uniting followers throughout all sports activities, to its distinctive choices like Fanatics Video games, Fensterman and his crew are ushering in a brand new period of sports activities occasions.
The one query now’s how they’re going to high it subsequent 12 months.
The digital revolution opened up a universe of alternative for entrepreneurs. Hundreds of thousands will be reached in seconds with just some clicks. However in a screen-saturated world, folks crave one thing deeper: an actual connection.
“In comparison with a digital advertising and marketing marketing campaign, reside occasions might attain fewer folks,” says Fanatics Occasions CEO Lance Fensterman. “However digital is shallow. It is a fast scroll and transfer on. Dwell occasions are deep and immersive. They mean you can actually work together with followers and provides them experiences they’re going to always remember.”
Fensterman put that philosophy into motion in his first 12 months at Fanatics, main the launch of Fanatics Fest NYC in 2024, a three-day competition that blends sports activities, tradition and leisure into one in-person expertise. The inaugural occasion drew over 70,000 attendees final summer time.
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