NEW YORK — Fanatics Fest took over the Jacob Javits Convention Center for three days this weekend, entertaining sports fans with a variety of celebrity appearances, participatory activities and autograph signings.
Representatives of cllct were there for all three days to compile our report card.
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So, how did Fanatics's attempt to create a comic-con event for sports grade out?
Let's break it down.
Activities: A+
For a 7- to 18-year old sports fan, there is nothing better than spending a day at Fanatics Fest. Kids could run a 40-yard dash, shoot hockey pucks into laundry machines, get into the Octagon or, the absolute best, record themselves entering as their favorite WWE superstars.
It was all the premier sports fan experiences in one spot, and, in most cases, the lines were not too bad.
The Unexpected: A+
Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin promised stars would be everywhere and people would have a chance to touch them. On this, Fanatics delivered.
Whether it was Tom Brady buying his own cards from a dealer who sold almost exclusively Brady cards, Livvy Dunne and Alix Earle dressing up as their boyfriends (Paul Skenes and Braxton Berrios, respectively), Rob Gronkowski and Brady dressing up as each other, star athletes were everywhere and having fun.
Anthony Edwards and Kevin Durant signed autographs for the crowd while wearing their gold medals. Jake Paul walked around the card show and dropped $14k on a Caitlin Clark card. Kyle Kuzma played knockout with kids. Dana White showed up to the UFC booth amid absolute hysteria.
Then there were 40-yard-dash showdows: Dunne running against Druski, Adam Schefter beating Rich Eisen, and Travis Scott taking on IShowSpeed. Sidebar: Out of all the celebrities there, my 10-year-old boys went nuts when they saw IShowSpeed, who I learned is a major influencer.
At first, I thought that 40/40 Club was a curious move because only the stars could enter, and it was prominently placed. But it actually proved to be a brilliant move because the balcony could be seen by all. And fans wanted to celebrity watch, congregating up on the second deck.
By doing this, Fanatics had a high-end place for the celebrities to feel comfortable, and fans could "people watch," such as when DJ Khaled arrived Saturday afternoon and a crowd 1,000 feet away on the ground zoomed their phones into the action.
Adding in Sunday's pre-fight press conference for the Mike Tyson-Paul bout was a stroke of genius.
Celebrity talks: A-
Seeing the large crowds watching the stars talk on the Center Stage and in the Theatre was a bit surprising. You could see how important it was for fans to just see these guys in person and what a thrill it was.
We can't underestimate the desire for fans to also see live programming — whether it was the masses watching ESPN's "First Take," WFAN Radio or The Pivot podcast, and the guests that showed up, too. When the WWE's Paul Heyman was on Center Stage on Saturday afternoon, there were thousands hooting and hawing at Heyman's every word.
Collectibles Area: B
This wasn't The National. But it was never expected to be The National.
What it was was an area for sports fans who came for the immersive activities to also take a look at cards. The busiest areas in the entire collectibles section were the PSA booth (to get a card graded after being just pulled) and the JSA/CGC area (where fans wanted their autographs graded).
Many collectors were upset because they thought the dealer section would be so much more. That's half on Fanatics and half on them. There were major collectible pieces here that weren't at the National — such as the Lids x Topps hat/card collaboration and the Travis Scott Cactus Jack Topps Chrome release — which Fanatics should get credit for.
The fact Fanatics Live has devoted its business to breaking was very clear based on the attention on the show floor. The question is: Where does Fanatics want to go from here. Does it want to try to do the experiences and the best collectible show of all time? Or does it want to use the experiences to keep the collectible area more for the beginners. Time will tell.
Communication: B-
Rubin was everywhere promoting this event, and there seemingly wasn't an outlet missed. However, promotion suffered because it wasn't well described to the public.
What is an "immersive sports festival?" anyway? Is it for collectors? Is it for kids to run around like the NFL Experience? Fanatics would have scored worse here if not for the fact perhaps they didn't even know what it was going to be. This was the first time anyone had done anything like this, and the speed at which it came together was impressive.
And to be honest, I think Fanatics didn't really know what it was going to be like. The rumor is, Fanatics is going to have a Fanatics Fest two more times this year. I think that could be a major mistake. without a proper download of what this event is and an examination the communication around its intent.
Food: B-
No one thinks they are going to Fanatics Fest to eat, but people are there for six to eight hours. What was offered was an upgrade from what is offered at The National, but there still wasn't enough adequate things to eat or buy for a full day with the family.
There needs to be a fast-food provider to turn out quality at scale inside the venue, so fans aren't tempted to leave. Another option could be to partner with providers to bring in world-renowned stadium food as options.
Ticketing: C
Fanatics went through the trouble of making an app, but if you bought the tickets on the app, you still had to get online and show your barcode to get a physical laminated pass. This made no sense and was probably the result of just running out of time.
Lines to pick up purchased tickets ran from five to 45 minutes, depending on when you showed up. For future events, there has to be barcode scanning.
Pricing: C
As Ticketmaster has proved, people don't like to see all the layers of pricing. The fact that the prices all weekend ended with cents made no sense. Let's give you an example: Tickets were $58.68 for adults per day (broken down with a $8.68 service fee) and $35.21 for kids (with a $5.21 service fee). Just round up or round down and don't tell people what makes up the price.
My family bought a ticket for Auston Matthews photo-op. We paid $199. Then there was a fee of $16.92, which made it more than $215. After taxes and everything, we paid $246.89. There's no comfort in breaking it down. In fact, it gives people more anxiety. Just charge them $250.
Photos and autographs: D
Fanatics hired Epic Experiences, which does all autograph signings at the comic-cons, to outsource this. It was a major mistake. As long as Fanatics Events is the real business, the company must build event management for this. Epic had two people running the entire crowd essentially.
At The National, there are slinked, orderly lines from beginning to end. Here it was just a free for all. On Friday, one of the Epic workers called for "Group 1, Jalen Brunson," and people started running to the area where Brunson was. Fans expect to wait in lines that take an hour or two for these signings. But it must have a semblance of organization, which this did not have.
Fanatics doesn't have to compete with The National. There were way too many signers. The good thing, it's very easily fixed. Go from 60 signers to 30. Problem solved.
Overall: B
Although there were a lot of things to be fixed, we were fairly impressed with the event. The breadth of what was pulled off could only be done by Fanatics.
If Fanatics doesn't rush and try to do a ton of these, Fanatics Fest 2025 will be a must-attend event for many sports fans. And we feel like leagues will spend a significant amount of time to upgrade their acts.
As for collectors Fanatics should decide how it wants to serve them. Collectors have certain expectations that have been historically built, and perhaps this is the start of a shift toward giving them better overall event experiences.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.