NEW YORK -- A must-attend for sports fans, Fanatics Fest NYC will take place at Javits Center from July 16-19.
The inaugural event, which took place in August 2024, was a concept conceived, developed and operated by Fanatics, the global sports distribution giant and NHL partner that was a sports fans' dream.
Major sports leagues, hands-on activations, autographs and picture sessions, panel discussions with athletes and card retailers make for an unforgettable weekend.
So will the Fanatics Games, back for its second year.
Last year, 50 fans got to compete against 50 athletes and celebrities in eight events across all sports including hockey, baseball, basketball, football, wrestling, soccer, golf and mixed martial arts. Each person's six-best scores among the eight events were counted, with the winner getting $1 million cash, second place getting a Ferrari 812 GTS, and third a LeBron James graded rookie card (worth around $250,000).
Tom Brady was the inaugural winner, with Justin Gaethje of the Ultimate Fighting Championship finishing second and fan Matt Dennish taking home the third-place prize.
"I remember it was when we were putting together Fanatics Fest 1.0 in 2024," said Scott Fisher, head of strategy for Fanatics events. "It was after the Olympics, and we thought about, 'Oh, we should do the Fanatics Fest Olympics. We should have something where people compete in all these things. It'd be great. Let's do it.' We had pulled together that first Fanatics Fest in four months, and that was maybe a bridge too far to try to do (the games) the first year, but it was always something that was in the back of our minds.
"How do you do something that is a competition that gets athletes to go experience all of the different leagues at Fanatics Fest? The experience of Fanatics Fest is it's all sports in all these leagues. And so how do we kind of create something that sits across all of it? So, that's how it started."
Brady and Gaethje will return, joining John Cena, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Rob Gronkowski, David Ortiz, James Harden and Jaxson Dart among a few of the athletes who will take part this year. Gold-medal winning defenseman Megan Keller of the United States women's Olympic hockey team will also be in the competition.
In addition, NHL players Jack Hughes, Quinn Hughes and Brock Nelson, who also won gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics, and Hockey Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist and Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, the NHL's all-time goals leader, will be some of the hockey players in attendance throughout the weekend.
Fans were able to apply via video submission as well as at qualifiers held at Dick's Sporting Goods around the country. There were more than 10 times the number of applicants this year than last.
"I think part of the magic of that is, you're going to get to see all these things at different moments," Fisher said. "And it challenges all these athletes who feel like little kids again. Like, 'Oh, I haven't had to play hockey in a while, or I haven't had to kick field goals.' And because it's all those new skills, it's super compelling for the fans and the athletes competing. And the prizes are no joke."
This year, the first prize is again $1 million. Second prize is a 2025 Ferrari, and third place receives a Lionel Messi Patch autograph (worth $250,000). There also will be other prizes, awarded to the top fan, if none finish in the top three, as well as to the top female competitor.
Last year, Dennish was one of several fans who more than held their own against the biggest athletes in the world, several of whom have been invited back to compete this year.
"We had six fans in the top 10 last year, so, even though the top two were athletes in Tom Brady and Justin Gaethje, we found that the fans actually did even better," Fisher said. "And that I think is so cool in the magic of this thing, is that it makes those fans slots even more valuable, and each fan, with the way Tom did things last year, he gave $5,000 to each fan who competed. For Dennish, who got third place, he got $250,000. That was life-changing for him. And so to be able to create that, I think it just makes it even more exciting with what this can be, and an opportunity for fans to do something that just doesn't exist anywhere else.
"That was important for us to invite them back. Let's start to build those stories."
This year, the show floor will be different and built around the games so that athletes can move through, creating a Walk of Fame, where fans can high-five them and take pictures. Most of the areas where the events are will also have seating for fans to watch.
Some games were also adjusted to make the playing field more level. For instance, the NFL passing competition from last year will be a field goal kick this year. And NHL participants will try and shoot a puck through a tiny hole in a net, as seen at many games during intermission.
The 2025 event of shooting a puck into a dryer proved a challenge for many.
"We want fans to have a chance," Fisher said. "We're leaning into things like money balls and other super-exciting things that have a chance to make this really play well on social media and really give fans a chance to do well if they're not a professional in a certain sport."
The scoring will also be out of 10 instead of 100 this year, and the entire event will be available for fans to watch (youtube.com/fanatics/live) if they can't attend, with talent such as Noah Eagle, Matthew Berry, Maria Taylor and Chiney Ogwumike. The competition is scheduled to start on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
"There is a livestream that will be on YouTube and Twitch," Fisher said. "And for us, the focus on that was this is a sporting event that people should want to watch. This is something that's exciting, and it's something that, honestly, it's like a golf tournament. You're not able to be at all 18 holes at once, so it become a much better TV or streaming experience."
One thing is certain -- it will be a memorable weekend at Fanatics Fest regardless of who wins the Fanatics Games.
Fisher said, "Getting more people to dream, 'Can I be the next Matt Dennish, in addition to, 'Can I be the next Tom Brady, or Jack Hughes?'
"For us, I think this is just naturally something that should continue to build and should spin off, should stay part of Fanatics Fest, but can also stand alone as its own property and something that should be on TV moving forward."
