16 Ways to Turn Sports Gear Into Event Decor

Visitors were able to wander through the field of Louisville Slugger bats. On the other side, a lathe operator was creating bats from the wooden billets, which were then added back to the “field” as completed bats.

M.L.B. Assembly was an inaugural multi-day pop-up event that showcased designers, artists, musicians, and athletes in an exhibit curated by the league and advertising agency DMA United. The event took place from July 13 to 16 at District Pier at the Wharf in Washington during M.L.B. All-Star Week. Field by Snarkitecture, an interactive architectural installation made of baseball bats and wooden billets, was on display outside the venue.

Visitors were encouraged to observe the process of creation and transformation, as the field shifted from billets to bats over the four days. Linder served as the project lead and lead vendor for M.L.B. Assembly, working with Design Foundry, Select Event Group, RSVP Catering, EventEQ, On Tap, and Hargrove.

During the 118th U.S. Open Championship, which took place at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York, in June, U.S.G.A. partner American Express built its first-ever American Express Card Member Club on site. Located at the 10th hole green, the club offered card members and fans lounge seating, along with food and beverage items for purchase. The space was an extension of the brand’s marketing campaign called “Powerful Backing: Don’t Do Business / Don’t Live Life Without It;” some of the clubhouse's wall decor featured the messaging with the words “live life” spelled out in golf tees.

Inside the club, guests were able to grab essentials like binoculars and radios, play Golden Tee arcade games, and sign golf balls, which were included in an ever-evolving wall display.

During the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which took place in June and July, Visa, the official payment services provider of FIFA, set up two lounges for clients and guests, one of which featured a wall with rows of soccer balls.

During the 67th N.B.A. All-Star Game weekend in February, N.B.A. partner Kia hosted a public activation at Hudson Loft in downtown Los Angeles. The space, which had athlete appearances throughout the weekend, was decorated with roughly 700 basketballs that were later donated to the Girls Inc. Center.

Throughout that same weekend, American Express hosted a free, open-to-the-public pop-up on South Hope Street, a few blocks from L.A. Live. The multi-sensory activation, dubbed the American Express Experience, featured several interactive rooms and installations. The main room included 18 crystal chandeliers crafted from basketball hoops. Design studio the Other Half used more than 9,000 crystals for the installation.

A golden vault tied into American Express’s long partnership with the Los Angeles Lakers. A 500-pound door led to a room with 500 safety deposit boxes and 30 gallons of gold paint, along with gold basketballs and hoops on the wall.

At the 2017 U.S. Open, which took place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park section of Queens, sponsor Grey Goose served the tournament’s official cocktail. The vodka brand also had its first-ever suite at the stadium. Decor included a branded step-and-repeat created with tennis balls and rackets in the brand’s signature blue color.

In November 2014, RJ Whyte Event Production produced the grand re-opening celebration, titled “Tennis Shoes, Ties, and After 5,” for the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center. The event was held in the 48,000-square-foot tennis center in Washington. Decor by Design Foundry included flying arches of tennis balls from hanging tennis racquets that bounced off of centerpieces of artfully stacked books. Large tennis balls were also stacked on glass vases to complement the high ceilings in the facility.

During N.B.A. All-Star Weekend in New Orleans in February 2017, Foot Locker partnered with Nike to transform its Canal Street location into a brand hub that included a DJ booth with a backdrop of black basketballs.

At the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools’ Connections gala, held in March at the Geraghty, Kehoe Designs created clever sports decor using sporting equipment such a golf balls, tennis rackets, and baseball bats.

Ahead of March Madness, Marriott International—the official hotel partner of the N.C.A.A.—hosted a basketball-theme breakfast at the Renaissance New York Times Square Hotel's R Lounge in March. The event featured basketball-theme floral centerpieces by Olga Sahraoui, as well as brackets for attendees to fill out. The hotel handled event production in-house.

At the 2012 Hudson River Park gala held in May at the Hudson River Park in New York, Matthew David Hopkins of 360 Design Events created centerpieces that incorporated running shoes and bicycle wheels.

At the Taste of Tennis event in Miami, held in conjunction with the 2015 Miami Open in April of that year, a wall of oversize tennis balls with the Evian logo served as branded decor.