Major
League Baseball Joins Sports Licensing Show Lineup
“Big Picture” Now Almost Complete for
November Event
August 15, 2006
As every
baseball fan knows, you can never have too many heavy hitters
in your lineup. In that respect, today’s announcement
that Major League Baseball Properties has signed on to showcase
at the Sports Licensing & Entertainment Marketplace
and Tailgate • Picnic Show (November
9–11, 2006; Las Vegas Convention Center) was a home
run.
MLB joins a very impressive team that includes NFL, NBA,
NHL, CLC, CLPA, NASCAR , MLS, PBR (Professional Bull
Riders) and other high-profile licensors.
“We are working with Major League Baseball on a dynamic
environment that will serve as a hub for all of their licensees,
many who have already committed to the show,” explains
Show Director Ann Keusch of Showproco, which created and
is producing the Sports Licensing & Entertainment Marketplace.
“We expect to see many more MLB licensed exhibitors
with this exciting news.”
Additionally, Major League Baseball will co-locate its Concessionaires
Meeting in Las Vegas during the same period. For MLB’s
concessionaires, this decision opens up concentrated buying
and networking opportunities that had not existed in the
past.
"This is a great opportunity is to bring together the
entire sports licensed industry," says Howard Smith,
Senior Vice President, Consumer Products at Major League
Baseball. "The city is right, the Marketplace concept
is terrific, and there should be a lot of fun and excitement
surrounding baseball with the World Series having just concluded."
The presence of MLB concessionaires at the show is an especially
exciting development for exhibitors in the Tailgate •
Picnic Show, sponsored by the American Tailgate Association
(ATA), a specialty show co-located with the Sports Licensing
& Entertainment Marketplace. With baseball teams playing
81 home games each year, stadium concessionaires have long
found the potential of the tailgating market highly intriguing.
“This is great news for our members and sponsors.”
says John Largent, President of the American Tailgaters
Association. “The game’s most devoted fans can
be found in baseball stadium parking lots hours before the
first pitch, and they are always looking for ways to strengthen
their bond with the teams. MLB concessionaires are going
to discover some very lucrative ways to tap into this unique
culture.”
The announcement that Major League Baseball will be exhibiting
at the Sports Licensing & Entertainment Marketplace
beefs up the show’s Buyer Satisfaction Guarantee Program,
which is unprecedented in the trade show industry. Showproco
has promised buyers they will find this event to be a productive
use of their time or they will be reimbursed for up to two
nights of their hotel stay
"Now they have another important stop to pencil into
their show itineraries,” says Keusch.
