5 Big Experiential Themes from Fanatics Fest 2026

To know the fan, you must be the fan. And the brands that showed up to Fanatics Fest 2026, the sports fan festival in hyper-growth, proved it. Among the ways brands hit the mark for the 200,000 consumers, collectors and luminaries in attendance: Capturing the zeitgeist of sports culture, providing unparalleled access and recreating the frenzy on the field.

We navigated around talent walkways—how stars get from backstage to in-booth panels and appearances—drops and more across the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York on July 17. (Side note: The event clocked 500 athlete appearances and 150 panels and podcast shows over its four days). Here’s what stuck out.

‘Full-send’ Activations

The WWE’s Superstar Entrance experience invited fans to be the walk of their favorite wrestling stars with theme music pumping and TitanTron content behind them. An a/v crew added to the hype and authenticity and captured each group’s entrance moment to share later. Nearby, ESPN offered a Top Rope Jump activation that had fans leaping into the ring like a WWE superstar.

Outside the convention center at Site K, Polaris partnered with Call of Duty for Modern Warfare 4 on a ride-along experience within an expansive dirt lot transformed into an “urban obstacle course” that felt like scenes from the game. With vertical climbs, log piles and a spectacular jump at the end, it gave “Camp Jeep” a run for its money.

Materialized Fanaticism

Foot Locker and Nike teamed up on a modest footprint that served a super reward: Consumers could customize a pair of Air Force 1s with a piece of an authentic game-worn jersey from their favorite player. Exclusive merch and collectibles were a huge draw, and mission, for fans across the show floor.

Over at FF’s “The Shop” activation, a real barbershop experience on the show floor, attendees could schedule actual cuts from professional barbers (we loved the menu of styles inspired by major sports stars), hang out, talk sports, and await exclusive appearances and live broadcasts.

Scale and Spectacle

Raising Cane’s and its unique marketing model that includes organic, celebrity partnerships all built on friendship and fanaticism for chicken fingers secured its rightful place as the only quick-service brand on the show floor. Driving home its simple but beloved menu, the booth, right along an active talent-walk thoroughfare on the floor, couldn’t be missed with the sky-high suspended installation of larger-than-life chicken fingers, fries, coleslaw and Cane’s sauce with a halo of blue sky around it.

An additional larger-than-life display of the brand’s signature meals had fans snapping and sharing. While a dunk tank containing Cane’s sauce-colored balls was the source of a viral moment during the festival: On July 16, Tom Brady filmed a viral dunking of Gronk in the tank, which was custom-filled for that moment with a reported 500 gallons of Cane’s Sauce. (Agency: Pinnacle)

More larger-than-life photo ops included a WWE belt, Lady Liberty’s head within the Call of Duty booth’s gritty experience, PSA’s collectible card-case entrance to its merch store, and a giant FIFA World Cup ball moment within DICK’s footprint.

Neighborhood Footprints

FIFA’s towering block party was among league experiences with sprawling footprints. The “football festival” environment celebrating FIFA World Cup 2026 and FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 featured competitions, gaming, entertainment, a bar, trophy photo ops and mascots. Custom newspapers with the day’s activities helped orient fans.

DICK’s signature store entrances flanked either end of its booth footprint, while icons like a home plate and running line acted as directionals for fans to the rich moments within. Among hot spots: an Expression Lab with the opportunity to customize special-edition FIFA World Cup 2026 adidas Sambas, a “Loyalty Scorecard Plus Arcade,” and a high-tech putting green with Puttview Technologies that attracted celebs like Tom Brady and Justin Bieber during the festival. (Agency: Sparks)

American Express, official payments partner of Fanatics, erected a multiroom, fan-enhanced residential home with games that represented each of the sports within Amex’s sponsorship portfolio—putting in a golf-themed kitchen, for one. One of the coveted giveaways was an oversized “champion chain” we saw around fans’ necks throughout the show

Fans as Heroes

AT&T’s signature blue footprint featured a main stage with variety show programming and plush seating reserved for AT&T customers only, on top of surprise and delights like complimentary sneaker cleanings. Call of Duty gave fans a chance to be among the first “in the world” to play Modern Warfare 4, as well as experience night vision (a key component of the game). FIFA’s immersive Women’s World Cup 2027 soccer goal activation offered 180-degree LEDs to mimic the fervor of scoring a goal in a real match. And UFC’s life-size arena invited fans to imagine the hype, while a Striking Challenge had fans testing their swings against celebrities and real fighters.