Baseball lovers of every age convened at the Jacob K Javits Convention Center over the last week for the 18th annual Major League Baseball FanFest, a sports-themed carnival for people who couldn't get tickets to Tuesday's All-Star game, with admission costing just $30. The spectacle took up some 450,000 square feet of space, and hosted an estimated 130,000 people during its July 11 to 15 run.
FanFest aimed to give authentic baseball experiences to sluggers of all ages. Children hit the batting cages, tested their sliding skills in a miniature baseball diamond, and tried their hands at pitching against video projections of Major League batters. The small diamond played host to All-Stars like Roy White and Mickey Rivers who tutored little leaguers in hitting and fielding. While their children honed their skills with professionals, grown men and women lined up to don blue blazers and give mock sports commentary in front of a professional news crew set up by Gillette.Games and photo-ops weren’t the only opportunities in the sea of exhibits. Historical booths chronicled the journey of African Americans and women in the sport, strategically placed vendors hawked traditional ballpark grub, and retailers peddling baseball paraphernalia took up large chunks of the space.
Reg Bronskill, principal at Toronto’s Bronskill & Co., has served as executive producer of FanFest since its inaugural run in 1991. “This year the space came in at just under half a million square feet,” he says of Javits. “Only a small portion of that was on another floor, so that helps us unify the overall experience. Every year we work with a different space, but this year allowed us to be compelling and integrated.”
FanFest’s arrival at Javits was not without some controversy. Early last year, after Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the 2008 All-Star game would be played at Yankee Stadium, the board at the Javits Center voted to subsidize MLB’s fee to rent the convention center for FanFest. The decision broke a longstanding policy against providing discounts, giving MLB 33 percent, or $200,000, off the rental.
The New York Times reported last March that Javits previously refused similar discounts for the National Football League, the Republican Party, and the Robin Hood Foundation, which holds its annual gala in the space where FanFest set up shop. At the time, the board justified its decision to acquiesce to the city’s convention and visitors bureau and the Sports Development Corporation, which bid for the All-Star Game on the city’s behalf, by citing how much revenue the game would bring to the city.
FanFest took as many days to build as it was open to the public, and workers will have dismantled it Friday evening.
FanFest aimed to give authentic baseball experiences to sluggers of all ages. Children hit the batting cages, tested their sliding skills in a miniature baseball diamond, and tried their hands at pitching against video projections of Major League batters. The small diamond played host to All-Stars like Roy White and Mickey Rivers who tutored little leaguers in hitting and fielding. While their children honed their skills with professionals, grown men and women lined up to don blue blazers and give mock sports commentary in front of a professional news crew set up by Gillette.Games and photo-ops weren’t the only opportunities in the sea of exhibits. Historical booths chronicled the journey of African Americans and women in the sport, strategically placed vendors hawked traditional ballpark grub, and retailers peddling baseball paraphernalia took up large chunks of the space.
Reg Bronskill, principal at Toronto’s Bronskill & Co., has served as executive producer of FanFest since its inaugural run in 1991. “This year the space came in at just under half a million square feet,” he says of Javits. “Only a small portion of that was on another floor, so that helps us unify the overall experience. Every year we work with a different space, but this year allowed us to be compelling and integrated.”
FanFest’s arrival at Javits was not without some controversy. Early last year, after Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the 2008 All-Star game would be played at Yankee Stadium, the board at the Javits Center voted to subsidize MLB’s fee to rent the convention center for FanFest. The decision broke a longstanding policy against providing discounts, giving MLB 33 percent, or $200,000, off the rental.
The New York Times reported last March that Javits previously refused similar discounts for the National Football League, the Republican Party, and the Robin Hood Foundation, which holds its annual gala in the space where FanFest set up shop. At the time, the board justified its decision to acquiesce to the city’s convention and visitors bureau and the Sports Development Corporation, which bid for the All-Star Game on the city’s behalf, by citing how much revenue the game would bring to the city.
FanFest took as many days to build as it was open to the public, and workers will have dismantled it Friday evening.
\"World's largest\" baseball
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
The "world's largest" baseball stood near the entrance, marked up with autographs from all the players who made the trip to FanFest.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
At the center of FanFest, producers set up a small baseball diamond for little leaguers to work with professional players.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
Multiple locations for batting cages made the lines move quickly.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
Mascots walked the floor of the Javits Center, posing for photos with guests.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
Kids too young for the batting cages raced pedal cars adorned with team logos.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
Guests posed with cutouts of the 2008 Yankees at one of the many photo stations.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
Batters up for a challenge swung at pitches from professionals.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
Vendors sold hats of every MLB team, and one shop even had seamstresses monogramming paraphernalia.
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash
