NEW YORK — Fanatics Fest is back at the Javits Center this week, and if you’re here because you searched “what is Fanatics Fest,” the short version is this: it’s a four-day sports convention where several hundred of the most famous athletes alive sign things, sit for panels, and get photographed with strangers. The longer version is that this year’s baseball roster is absurd, and you don’t have to be in Manhattan to get anything out of it.
What Is Fanatics Fest, and Where Is It?
- What: Fanatics Fest NYC 2026 — a four-day fan festival built around autographs, photo ops, panels, brand activations, and live shows
- When: Thursday, July 16 through Sunday, July 19, 2026
- Where: The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, Manhattan’s West Side
- Tickets: On sale now. A Fanatics ONE account is required to buy, and to earn or redeem FanCash
- The app: The Fanatics App is the hub — tickets, scanning, transfers, Apple and Google Wallet, the daily schedule, floor maps, and exclusives all live there
For bag policy, parking, coat check, ATMs, and everything else logistical, the event’s own FAQ is the only source worth trusting, and it’s the thing you should read before you get on a train.
Ticket buyers earn 3% FanCash back to spend at booths onsite or at Fanatics.com, plus 10 Tier Points for every $5 spent on tickets and 10 for every $10 on eligible photo ops and autographs.
The Baseball Lineup Is Ridiculous
Michael Rubin, left, Paul Skenes, Livvy Dunne and Camille Fishel attend Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Super Bowl party on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, in New Orleans. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Here’s what got buried under the LeBron headlines. The 2026 talent list is stacked with baseball, past and present:
Aaron Judge. Derek Jeter. David Ortiz. Alex Rodriguez. CC Sabathia. Carlos Beltrán. Chase Utley. David Wright. Bernie Williams. Andy Pettitte. Darryl Strawberry. Andruw Jones. Chuck Knoblauch. Anthony Volpe. Austin Wells. Ben Rice. Cody Bellinger. Cam Schlittler.
That’s a Hall of Fame wing and a Yankees clubhouse in one convention center. And there’s a wrinkle worth appreciating: Aaron Judge was elected an All-Star starter and couldn’t play Tuesday night because of a rib fracture that’s kept him out since early June. He’s nominated for Best MLB Player at the ESPYs Wednesday. He can’t swing a bat right now — but he can sign one, and he’ll be in the building.
Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, Cam Schlittler, and Austin Wells give you a live Yankees contingent fresh off All-Star week. And CC Sabathia, newly enshrined, remains one of the most thoughtful voices in the sport on where baseball’s been and where it’s going.
The ESPYs Connection Is Not a Coincidence
Rapper Travis Scott, center, stands alongside Fanatics founder and CEO Michael Rubin at the launch party for Fanatics Studio, a global studio for sports entertainment, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
The ESPYs returned to New York this year specifically to line up with Fanatics Fest, as part of a partnership with Michael Ratner’s Fanatics Studios producing the ceremony. That’s why the ESPYs are at Lincoln Center on Wednesday night and the Javits Center is full of athletes Thursday morning. Same week, same city, same company, by design.
Which means the sports calendar this week runs: All-Star Game Tuesday, ESPYs Wednesday, Fanatics Fest Thursday through Sunday, World Cup Final Sunday. Somebody planned that.
Here’s our full guide to the ESPYs, including what time and what channel.
The World Cup Final Is Here Too
Fanatics Fest is hosting official FIFA World Cup 2026 pre-match press conferences on Friday, July 17, and a live watch party for the Final on Sunday, July 19, with a major FIFA presence across the weekend. If you’re in New York and looking for somewhere to watch the biggest match on earth surrounded by several thousand people losing their minds, that’s the room.
Who’s Michael Rubin?
Michael Rubin, left, founder and CEO of Fanatics, and New York Knicks’ Jose Alvarado, right, talk with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, center, before the NBA basketball draft, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
He’s the founder and CEO of Fanatics, and he’s the reason any of this exists. Rubin built a sports merchandise company into a collectibles-and-events empire, launched Fanatics Studios in January at the Intuit Dome, and throws the parties that end up on everyone’s feed. If you searched his name this week, that’s why.
Rubin’s orbit skews NBA and NFL — he’s at the draft with Adam Silver, he’s at the Super Bowl. But the baseball is there when you look: that’s Paul Skenes standing next to him at his Super Bowl party last February, a year before Skenes would be nominated for Best MLB Player at a ceremony Rubin’s own studio produces.
A Fanatics logo is displayed at Oracle Park during a baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies in San Francisco, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
How to Follow From Anywhere
Here’s the part for everyone not walking into the Javits. Most of this event lives online by design.
- The Fanatics App carries the daily schedule and announcements, whether or not you have a ticket
- @fanaticsfest on Instagram and TikTok is where the real-time clips land — appearances, panels, whatever goes sideways
- Live recordings: LeBron James returns for two days, Thursday and Friday, opening with a live taping of Mind the Game featuring guest host Tyrese Haliburton, plus surprise guests. Podcast tapings become episodes, which means you hear it eventually regardless
- The Knicks champions are doing autographs and photo ops — a New York victory lap that will be all over your feed by Friday afternoon
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is playable onsite before anyone else in the world, which is its own kind of news
You don’t need a wristband to watch Derek Jeter and David Ortiz sit on a stage together. You need a phone.
Javits Center, July 16 through 19. The baseball’s the best part, and almost nobody’s saying so.
The Fanatics Fest Bag Policy
Bag checks are in operation at the gates, and every bag is subject to inspection. Clear bags are encouraged to move the line faster, though regular bags within the size limits are fine. The event doesn’t publish its exact dimensions anywhere worth quoting secondhand, so check the official FAQ before you leave the house.
The genuinely useful thing most people miss: coat and baggage check is onsite, $5.00 per item.
Autograph and photo-op tickets are sold separately from general admission and are specific to the item being signed. Handlers run the lines, not the athletes — the rules you bought are the rules you get.
