The Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show, the industry’s sole remaining sports licensing exhibition, opens this week with 25 new exhibitors out of 367 that will be spread across 72,000 square feet in the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The show, which starts Wednesday, touts an increase over last year’s 342 exhibitors over 64,000 square feet.
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Adidas and New Era will be among the large licensees exhibiting at the show.
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Emerald Expositions bought the show just before the 2013 event. Show director Liz Crawford said that show attendance looks about even with last year, with 5,000 to 5,500 expected. The addition of soccer and international pavilions (both sold out) helped boost participation from the licensed sports industry, she said. Properties exhibiting include the NBA, NHL, NFL Players Association, Collegiate Licensing Co. and some international teams. Large licensees exhibiting include Nike, Adidas, Forever Collectibles, WinCraft, Majestic/New Era, ’47 Brand and Rico Industries.
A supporting forum for independent sports specialty retailers also has been added.
The Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show launched eight years ago from the ashes of the once-mighty Super Show, a comprehensive sporting goods exposition that closed in 2006 after a 21-year run.
For the fourth consecutive year, the NBA will set up in Las Vegas earlier in the week with its Team Retail Summit & Product Expo. The league will host 57 licensees for rounds of “speed dating,” with an expected crowd of around 300 team retailers and NBA league and team staffers.
