The Sports Licensing & Tailgate Show, held in January in Las Vegas, NV, is the premier event for licensors, licensees, retailers, and colleges interested in licensed products.

Attendees will have the chance to see more than 300 exhibiting companies representing every possible product category. All of the professional leagues and collegiate teams will be represented. Licensors participating will be CLC, NASCAR, NHL, MLB, NBA, and NFL.

The show attracts buyers from all types of retailers: specialty shops, fan shops, department stores, sporting goods stores, online retailers, collectibles, and gift stores. Retailers that attended in 2025 include Amazon, Sam’s Club, Fanatics, Sports Nation, Hot Topic, TJX Companies, Target Corp, Forever 21, Burlington Stores, Tilly’s, Ross Stores, Chewy, and many more. Click here to view the entire 2025 store list. 

The show continues to have a strong collegiate licensing presence. Hundreds of college bookstore buyers (including Michigan State University, UCLA, Princeton University) and more than 200 college licensing departments, continue to attend. Click here to view the entire 2025 school list.

The Sports Licensing & Tailgate Show is produced by Emerald. Formerly Nielsen Expositions, Emerald is a leading operator of business-to-business tradeshows in the United States, producing over 85 tradeshows and conference events per year connecting buyers and sellers across nine diversified markets, including general merchandise, sports, hospitality and retail design, jewelry, photography, decorated apparel, building, healthcare and military.

Other Emerald Sports & Retail events include Outdoor Retailer, ASD, Imprinted Sportswear Shows, Surf Expo, Surtex, Internet Retailer Conferences, and the National Stationery Show. This crossover allows Emerald customers to benefit from the synergies between the retail, sports, general merchandise and sports licensing & tailgate events. Click here to view all of Emerald’s events.