NCAA Regionals FanFest

It was a big opportunity for Newark to shine on the national stage as the first new city in a decade to host an NCAA Men's Basketball Regional. GoNewark HoopFest was created to welcome fans and the media to the Brick City and FanFest was at the heart of it all. For four days, Championship Plaza adjacent to the Prudential Center offered locals and visitors family friendly entertainment and activities. Eventage developed and executed the multifaceted event in partnership with the GoNewark Host Committee.

Client:
Brick City Development Corporation

• Conceive and design FanFest on Championship Plaza
• Permitting and venue relations
• Vendor relations and management
• Audio, video, lighting design and onsite production
• Onsite staffing and management of load-in, daily run of show and strike
• Recruitment and management of stage programming and talent
• Script writing and music production
• Signage and banners
• Sponsor activation

• 1,404 square feet of custom installed Sport Court for mini basketball courts
• 48 NCAA regulation-sized basketballs
• 5,400 square feet of tenting, including a heated beer garden, game tent and variety of tented food options for game attendees
• 10 live bands and dance acts
• Custom made 12' vertical jump game
• 5,000 temporary basketball-themed tattoos
• 775 feet of string lights in beer garden
• 6 pop-a-shots
• Three XBox gaming stations
• 7 flat screens with live satellite feeds of games from across the country
• A sold out Taco Truck (and some very full fans and Eventage staff)

• In addition to game days being packed at FanFest, the Thursday evening and Saturday non-game sessions were also very well attended by visitors and Newarkers alike.
• The event ran without incident for four continuous days, at times at capacity for attendance.
• Coverage of the FanFest in local and national media painted a positive picture of the fan experience in Newark, putting the Brick City in the spotlight and on the radar for other high profile sporting events.