Rubin’s Sports Business March Brings Fanatics to Live Events
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The legendary ascent of Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin through the sports industry is making yet another significant advancement, this time into the lucrative world of live events.
To launch Fanatics Events, a new live-events company, Fanatics announced an equity deal with Endeavor-owned IMG on Thursday. Majority-owned by Fanatics, the venture will begin with a focus on sports collectibles before broadening through “acquisitions, joint ventures, and new event launches.”
After leading the pop culture events company ReedPop, which organizes significant events like the New York Comic Con, Lance Fensterman was recently appointed CEO of Fanatics Events. Fensterman is excited to provide “an opportunity to celebrate all aspects of fandom.”
The live events industry, which took a hit during the pandemic, has recovered dramatically over the past year, with major events like the NFL’s Super Bowl Experience in 2023 bringing in some of its biggest audiences in years and leagues like the NBA aggressively developing new events.
The endeavor is merely the most recent expansion for Fanatics, which has grown exponentially beyond its origins in sports memorabilia trading cards, international sales, collectibles auctions, content, and sports betting while raising its company valuation to a lofty $31 billion.
Recently, Fanatics completed its $225 million acquisition of the U.S. by beating out a rival offer from DraftKings. assets of the company’s sportsbook operations by acquiring PointsBet.
Reference: frontofficesports.com
