Sports Card Dealers
Fanatics to host card shows, autograph sessions through new company
Fanatics plans to host its own card shows and athlete autograph sessions through a new company it is launching next year.
Fanatics Events will host cards shows, autograph sessions and other live events focused on sports collectibles, fashion, music and entertainment. The new company will be owned by Fanatics with marketing company IMG as a minority partner.
In a news release on Thursday, Fanatics said the new company would focus initially on collectibles, card shows and “collectible gatherings.”
“These events will be critical to Fanatics’ mission of growing the trading card and collectible hobby, welcoming new collectors, bringing current collectors together, and celebrating the fandoms of sports & entertainment in a format that is inviting and exciting for all fans,” the company said in a news release.
The events will also feature top athletes and celebrities from sports, music and pop culture.
Fanatics Events will be led by CEO Lance Fensterman, formerly of ReedPop, a pop culture live event and multimedia platform that produced some of the top Comic Con events in the country.
“The launch of our new Fanatics Events business provides an opportunity to celebrate all aspects of fandom — including sports, collectibles, memorabilia, fashion, music, and entertainment — under one physical roof in a way that has never been done before,” Fensterman said. “Fanatics is uniquely positioned to innovate the live event landscape, and these new touchpoints will reinforce our commitment to enhancing the overall experience for fans and collectors globally.”
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Fanatics plans to announce additional hires later this year and hold its first fan events in 2024.
Fanatics collectibles events will include:
• Fan and collector education programs led by industry experts.
• Business-to-business content to help hobby shops and professional collectors grow their business.
• Event-exclusive cards and memorabilia, plus limited-edition products from Fanatics partners.
• A trading floor where collectors can buy, sell and trade cards and collectibles.
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Other events will include:
• Athlete autograph opportunities that will “extend well beyond the typical autograph opportunity and into shared experiences that will create memories to last a lifetime.”
• Offerings from other major brands in collecting, footwear, apparel, etc.
Fanatics says it will also work with the major sports leagues to produce live content like card breaks and new product reveals; merchandise and apparel promotions; card and memorabilia collections; live entertainment; gaming and betting; and pop culture events.
