NIRSA 2025 Orlando
Answers to your questions
Whether you’re a current or prospective exhibitor, you’ll find answers here to common questions about exhibitor benefits, booth setup, event logistics, marketing opportunities, and more. For additional inquiries, contact [email protected].
General Questions
The NIRSA 2025 Conference is April 23–26, 2025, at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando, FL. The Campus Rec Expo runs April 24–25. Expo hall hours are:
- Thursday, April 24: 2:00pm-6:00pm
- Friday, April 25: 10:00am-2:30pm
Campus recreation professionals and students from across North America attend the NIRSA Conference. They represent many areas of recreation and administration: facility management, wellbeing, intramural and club sports, aquatics, fitness, climbing, esports, outdoor rec, youth camps, member services, marketing, student leadership, staff development, programming, and everything in between. Learn more about our members and attendees in this exhibitor prospectus.
You can see available booths on our online floor plan. Exhibitors should use their NIRSA login credentials to reserve a booth online at www.nirsa.org/exhibit.
If you are a new exhibitor or do not remember your username and password, contact Kelley Hungerford.
Please see our exhibitor information page for booth pricing. Contact Kelley Hungerford to receive a quote for a specific booth.
Early bird discounts are valid through October 3, 2024. The deadline to purchase a booth without incurring a $500 late fee is April 9, 2025.
Cancelation deadlines and fees are outlined in Section 3 of our exhibitor terms.
No, but being a NIRSA associate member provides 10% off booth fees, early access to next year’s floor plan, as well as many year-round benefits. Contact Kelley Hungerford with questions about associate membership.
PheedLoop is the event software platform and app for NIRSA 2025. After you purchase a booth, you will be emailed access to a private exhibitor portal. In the portal, you can design your exhibitor listing, see tasks to complete, download exhibitor graphics, and more. Booth details updated in the exhibitor portal sync with your company’s listing on the NIRSA 2025 website and event app.
Of course! If you’re not planning to exhibit but want to walk the show floor, complete a short form and exchange your business card for an expo-only day pass at the onsite event registration desk.
Check out NIRSA’s calendar for all upcoming events. Save the following dates for future annual conferences:
- NIRSA 2026: April 8–11, 2026, at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Aurora, CO
- NIRSA 2027: March 1–4, 2027, at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, MO
- NIRSA 2028: April 4–7, 2028, at the Baird Center in Milwaukee, WI
- NIRSA 2029: April 3–6, 2029, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, TN
We’d love to help you increase your brand visibility and engage our audience at NIRSA 2025. Onsite sponsorship and advertising opportunities are listed here. Contact Emily Hughes for more information.
Additionally, we may have open ad slots in monthly newsletters distributed before the show. Contact Kelley Hungerford for availability.
Exhibitor Benefits Questions
Booths come standard with the following amenities:
- Access to NIRSA 2025 educational sessions, roundtables, keynotes, and socials
- Company listing on NIRSA’s online floor plan and exhibitor website
- Company listing in the NIRSA 2025 event mobile app
- Customizable exhibitor graphics to promote your booth on social media
- Lunch in the exhibit hall on Day 2
- 8’ Fern fireproof back hardwall and a 3’ sidewall (excludes island booths)
- Aisle carpet throughout the exhibit hall
- Basic Wi-Fi in the exhibit hall (available to individuals lodging at the resort; suitable for emailing and web browsing)
- 24/7 security
- Three badges for every 100 square feet of booth space
- Annual Conference attendee lists, two pre-show and one post-show
- NIRSA associate member sticker displayed in front of associate member booths
Booth carpet, furnishings, electric, cleaning, and high-bandwidth internet are not included with your registration. You can supply your own or order these services through the Fern exhibitor kit.
Each exhibitor receives three badges per 100 square feet of booth space, and those badges include full conference registration. They grant you access to education sessions, roundtables, keynotes, and socials outside of the exhibit hall. Access to preconference workshops and outings must be purchased separately. Badges are for exhibitor employees only.
Additional badges may be purchased for $75 through April 8, 2025. Starting April 9, an additional $25 processing fee will be applied to late badge purchases.
Yes, NIRSA provides exhibitors with attendee lists before and after the show. Please review Section 17 of the terms of service for conditions around use of these lists. Exhibitors also have access to a lead retrieval service, available for purchase through the Fern exhibitor kit.
PLEASE NOTE: NIRSA DOES NOT EVER SELL ATTENDEE LISTS. Any emails or phone calls claiming to have lists of our conference attendees are SCAMS. You can report these to Kelley Hungerford or to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The Gaylord Palms offers complimentary Wi-Fi to all resort guests, including in the exhibit hall. Exhibitor representatives lodging outside of the resort will not have free Wi-Fi access. The Wi-Fi is for general browsing and checking emails; it may not be sufficient for streaming, downloading, and higher-bandwidth needs. We recommend you order internet in advance if you require a guaranteed, uninterrupted connection. More details will be available in the Fern exhibitor kit.
We are holding booths exclusively for sport governing bodies, sport associations, and league organizers—either for-profit or non-profit. Booking in the pavilion is subject to approval by NIRSA Staff. Exhibiting in the “Sports Governing Body Pavilion” costs more than a standard booth but comes with these benefits:
- 10×10 booth
- Three exhibitor badges*, which include full-conference registrations, to be used by employees of the organization or competitive players
- Invite to the NIRSA Champion Series Social
- 20-minute Q&A session hosted at the Campus Rec Expo Session Stage
- Meeting at NIRSA 2025 with NIRSA Staff and volunteer leaders to discuss how the Association can better support their work with campus rec
- Cost: $2,200 for members; $2,500 for nonmembers
- If exhibitor is a nonmember, this purchase also includes a one-year membership.
*Badges cannot be used by students nor professionals employed on a college or university campus unless they are attending exclusively to represent the sports organization.
Exhibitor Logistics Questions
Exhibitor move-in:
- Wednesday, April 23
- 8:00am–11:00am: Large booths (>400sqft) and activities
- 11:00am–5:00pm: All booths
- Thursday, April 24
- 8:00am–Noon: All booths
- Booths must be set by noon
Exhibitor move-out:
- Friday, April 25
- 2:30pm–10:00pm
You can assign booth staff in the PheedLoop exhibitor portal.
Exhibitors receive three badges per 100 square feet of booth space. Additional badges may be purchased online for $75 through April 8, 2025. Starting April 9, an additional $25 processing fee will be applied to late badge purchases.
Yes. NIRSA’s official lead retrieval vendor will be announced soon. Ordering information will be in the Fern exhibitor kit.
Yes, it is a requirement. You’ll find a sample COI with minimums and preferred language in the COI task of the PheedLoop exhibitor portal. You can upload your COI to the PheedLoop exhibitor portal or send to [email protected].
Yes, the Gaylord Palms has an onsite FedEx that handles shipping/receiving. You may also be able to ship items to your hotel room, and we recommend you check with the resort about this service. Whether you choose to ship to the hotel, with Fern, or another method, we strongly suggest you bring your tracking numbers with you and note how the shipment was labeled (i.e., with a Fern shipping label, etc.).
You may need to allocate union labor for your booth to cover material handling and booth display setup/teardown. Material handling and freight movement (dock-to-booth and booth-to-dock) are union labor. Rates include receipt of freight, delivery to booth, storage and return of empty crates, and reloading. Fern offers NIRSA exhibitors a heavily discounted, flat rate for exercise equipment. Stipulations, labels, and pricing can be found in the exhibitor kit.
Exhibitor employees may park in designated lots and hand-carry items through the front of the hall in multiple trips. The use of dollies and hand carts is prohibited; if wheeled devices are required to move items, the items will be subject to material handling and freight services.
Exhibitor booth displays may be constructed by full-time employees of the exhibiting company without the use of power tools; if power tools are needed, labor will be required. This does not apply to company products or machinery for display. Products may be placed by exhibitors regardless of booth size.
Labor can be ordered through the Fern exhibitor portal or by visiting the Fern service lounge onsite. Please check the Fern exhibitor kit in the winter for union regulations, labor, and material handling.
If you can hand-carry items into the exhibit hall without the use of a dolly or other wheeled device, you can park at the Convention Center Parking Lot and walk items in through the front of the hall.
For larger items that cannot be hand-carried, unload at the loading docks behind exhibit halls C-E. These items are subject to material handling and freight services, and Fern controls access to the docks to provide a safe and orderly move-in/move-out. Please check the Fern exhibitor kit for union regulations, labor, and material handling.
Sampling of single-serving food and beverages is permitted but must be approved by the Gaylord Palms. This includes distribution of pre-packaged candy and snacks. All other food and beverages must be purchased through catering services. Sampling approval and catering order forms can be found in the Fern exhibitor kit.
Distribution of alcohol must be pre-approved by NIRSA and cannot be consumed outside of your company’s exhibit space. Learn more in Section 13 of our exhibitor terms.
Room blocks at the Gaylord Palms will be open in early December 2024. BEWARE OF HOUSING SCAMS; they are rampant. The link provided by NIRSA is the ONLY way to book your room securely! No one will call you about booking a room unless you have already made a reservation and the call comes directly from the resort. Any other emails or phone calls claiming to have our host hotel information or claiming that our room blocks are full are SCAMS. You can report these to Kelley Hungerford or to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Hotel block and attendee list scams are rampant in the events industry. Hotel block and attendee list access will ONLY come from NIRSA Staff. Access to the host hotel block opens in early December. Attendee lists will be distributed closer to NIRSA 2025. Anyone else contacting you by email, phone, or otherwise does not have NIRSA’s official hotel nor attendee information, and they should be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Here are instructions from the FTC on reporting impersonation fraud cases (hotel and attendee list scams):
- Go to this website: reportfraud.ftc.gov/#.
- Click the “Report Now” button in the hero image.
- Select the “An impersonator” box (top left).
- Another question will appear below.
- Select “Well-known or trusted business” (top right under new question).
- Click the “Continue” button.
- Fill in the additional information and complete the process, which should only take 1–2 minutes.
We provide NIRSA 2025 exhibitor graphics you can share immediately as well as versions you can customize with your booth number, logo, staff headshots, and more. These graphics can be downloaded from the PheedLoop exhibitor portal. We encourage you to tag @NIRSAlive and use the hashtag #NIRSA2025 on social media.
Be sure to complete tasks in the exhibitor portal to build a robust company profile that includes company description, logos, videos, contact information, and more. This profile appears on the NIRSA 2025 website and in the event app. During the show, you can leverage the event app feed to post pictures of your booth and invite attendees to visit.
Onsite sponsorship and advertising opportunities are a great way to generate traffic, boost brand awareness, and engage attendees in and outside of the exhibit hall. Contact Emily Hughes for more information. Additionally, we may have open ad slots in monthly newsletters distributed before the show. Contact Kelley Hungerford for availability.
Thanks to Our Sponsors
