Since acquiring Topps in 2022, Fanatics slowly has attempted to reshape the collectibles industry one category at a time.
First, it was trading cards, then it was e-commerce, live selling and high-end marketplaces. Now, Fanatics is just a little more than a month away from its first flagship event.
Set to take over Manhattan’s Javits Center for three days Aug. 16-18, Fanatics Fest NYC hopes to blend a trading card show with a fan festival.
In spirit, Fanatics Fest plans to be the first comic con-style event for sports fans. Events such as Fan Fests for individual teams and autograph signings are nothing new, but Fanatics and its new Fanatics Events division want to create an experience that marries a variety of concepts into one.
“I feel like this is an opportunity to kind of elevate the idea of what a card show can be,” Fanatics Events CEO Lance Fensterman told cllct. “And the reason I say that is not that there’s anything at all bad about the community of card shows now. In fact, they’re unbelievable — they serve that community of collectors really, really well. I think what we were hoping to do is offer a different format.”
For collectors attending, the sports card show will likely be the major draw. Featuring 350-plus tables, Fanatics Fest is believed to be Manhattan’s largest card show ever.
Though high-profile guests such as Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, Kevin Durant, Sabrina Ionescu, Peyton Manning and Rhea Ripley have garnered much of the attention from casual sports fans, Fensterman says Fanatics Fest was designed with the card show at its core.
One of the architects behind New York Comic Con, Fensterman says that event was originally built in 2006 around a group of comic artists, dealers and collectors. From there, it expanded into adjacent categories such as film, television, video games, toys and pop culture.
That game plan could work with sports fans and collectors, too.
“We know that if we deliver certain things to the collector audience, to the hobby, they'll likely participate and be happy,” Fensterman said. “So, if we can start there, and make good on that promise, it gives us some room to then start to add other elements.”
With the Collector Zone anchoring the event, Fanatics has built out similar concepts to what comic-con goers might expect. Still light on details, the Collector Workshop Stage advertises events such as Collecting 101, How to Turn Your Hobby into a Business, How to Grade Cards and more.
“We're not trying to do it in a 'sit-down-and-listen' format,” Fensterman said. “We're creating an environment that is hands-on. So there's tables, not just seats, and we'll give people cards and let them play with them and understand them. It's not just to sit quietly.”
For Fensterman, building around a core concept the company knows it can succeed at is important, but it’s also critical to build on top of it — even for the first event.
The challenge, however, is that, for better or for worse, Fanatics Fest NYC will be a direct competitor to the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland. The largest sports card event in the world, the National takes place July 24 to 28.
Many collectors that have the ability to travel to a major event might still be limited to one or the other, and while collectors have had their own complaints and wants from the National over the years, Fensterman says he has no interest in competing directly, and he hopes they offer different experiences.
“The National and shows like it deliver wonderfully for who they deliver for, but they're not necessarily drawing in new audiences,” Fensterman said. “So, we're saying cool, let that be. It's perfect. We'll do some of that, but we want to do 50 percent new and other things in an effort to reach all those people that aren't hard-core collectors, but still deliver for that audience as well.”
Months in the making, Fanatics Fest now has to make good on its promises — if nothing else, because of the price. This event is one of the most ambitious ever for sports fans, and it has the cost of entry to match.
Single-day adult tickets cost $50, and a three-day pass is $130. A VIP ticket, which features benefits like better access to product drops and more, costs $400.
Collectors focused strictly on the card show might view $30 single-day tickets to the National as a better value proposition for buying, selling and trading.
“The ticket is more expensive,” Fensterman said. “A booth is more expensive than typical, because we're offering a much richer, bigger experience. But that means we have to deliver.”
The additional value for collectors will have to come from the comic con-inspired experiences.
Stars such as Hulk Hogan, Carmelo Anthony, Paul Pierce and Jerry Rice will be doing autograph signings and posing for photos, while the “Center Stage” will host live recordings for shows and podcasts, including "The Rich Eisen Show."
The biggest sports leagues in the United States will be there, as well as brands such as PSA, Lids and Mitchell & Ness, while “The Theatre” will include conversations featuring Brady, Manning, Jeter and more.
Star athletes attend events and signings often, but it’s far from the same spirit as what fans get at comic cons. Celebrities attending comic cons often participate in a gauntlet of activities — from panels to fan interviews, autographs and photos, the connection is much deeper than what many sports fans are used to.
Creating the “porous connection” has actually been more difficult than what Fanatics has expected. Movie and television stars have grown to expect the time investment involved with fan connection at comic cons, and many have embraced it. Many star athletes haven’t.
“I had thought it would be much easier,” Fensterman said. "This is going to be exciting, you're going to actually tell a story, you're going to be able to engage. The whole industry of memorabilia and collectibles is set up on not doing that.”
With so much already invested in the first event, it’s hard to imagine success being anything other than fans, collectors, athletes and media coming away excited. First impressions matter, and the goal is to eventually have Fanatics Fest in cities across the country and possibly even internationally.
Despite the pressure, Fensterman saw success building New York Comic Con by keeping the primary goal simple, and he’s doing that again.
“I want happy fans — that's it and something that I think is alarming for Fanatics,” Fensterman said. “We think about athletes, and we think about teams, and we think about leagues, right? We think about brands and, of course, fans, but I've been preaching this mantra that nothing matters, except happy fans. Because if we have leagues and teams and athletes and brands, but there aren't happy fans, no one's coming back.”
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.