Overview
Southport Marketing plans, manages, and runs large-scale Fan Fest activations, the pre-game experiences that welcome thousands of supporters before major moments in Southern California sports and beyond. Across clients including San Diego Wave FC, LAFC, Angel City FC, the LA Rams, and the NWSL, Southport handles the full operation: site design and build-out, vendor and sponsor coordination, staffing, crowd flow, and risk planning. The work blends experiential marketing and event production into fan experiences built to hold up under gameday pressure.
The Challenge
Fan Fest programs are massive operations. Site design and build-out, vendor and sponsor coordination, staffing, crowd control and flow, logistics, and risk management all have to come together in the narrow window between parking lots opening and game start, with no room for error.
Southport takes this on across a wide range of properties and formats: recurring season-long Fan Fests for professional soccer clubs, one-off championship celebrations produced within days, and league-wide championship weekends that draw fans from across the country.
The Experience
Southport’s Fan Fest work spans professional soccer, the NFL, and college athletics, in recurring season-long programs and one-off championship events.
San Diego Wave FC: Season-long Fan Fest production at Snapdragon Stadium, run as recurring gameday operations across the club’s schedule.
NWSL Championship Weekend: A league-wide championship Fan Fest produced every year since 2023 in a rotating host city, including the CarMax Skills Challenge featured on national CBS coverage.
LAFC: Fan Fest operations at BMO Stadium, plus the MLS Cup Championship Celebration and parade at Exposition Park following the club’s first-ever title.
Angel City FC: Shared-venue Fan Fest logistics at BMO Stadium alongside the club’s home schedule.
LA Rams: Recurring gameday Fan Fest operations for the NFL club.
USC Athletics and SDSU: Fan Fest activations tied to college sports programs in Los Angeles and San Diego.
Client Name
San Diego Wave FC, LAFC, Angel City FC, LA Rams, NWSL, USC Athletics, and SDSU
Event Date
Recurring and one-off engagements over 15+ years
Event Location
Southern California venues (Snapdragon Stadium, Exposition Park, BMO Stadium) and NWSL Championship host cities, including San Diego, Kansas City, and San Jose
Services Provided
The Impact
- Southport has run Fan Fest operations for a broad roster of properties, including San Diego Wave FC, LAFC, Angel City FC, the LA Rams, the NWSL, USC Athletics, and San Diego State, across both recurring season-long programs and one-off championship events.
- Southport has produced and operated the NWSL Championship Fan Fest every year since 2023, with a new attendance record set each time.
- The CarMax Skills Challenge, part of the NWSL Championship program, has been featured during national CBS broadcast coverage of the Championship game.
- Following LAFC’s first-ever MLS Cup title, Southport planned and operated the fan celebration and parade at Exposition Park on only a few days’ notice.
- The team’s Fan Fest work spans 15+ years and multiple venues, from Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego to Exposition Park and BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
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