Salem Sports

What Salem Sports does

Salem Sports Events, LLC is a privately held custom fabrication and branded-environment provider headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, founded in 1984. The company designs, fabricates, and installs custom interiors, signage, and experiential brand environments for live sporting events, serving Fortune 500 sponsors (e.g., Morgan Stanley, Citi, Coca-Cola, Nike, AWS, Rolex, FedEx, Tito's, Michelob Ultra, Grey Goose, Cognizant, Dell Technologies, Comcast Business) and major sports properties including the PGA Tour, Formula One (Circuit of the Americas), the Cleveland Guardians, Carolina Core FC, and Texas A&M Athletics. Operations are built around an in-house production stack — CNC machining, a paint shop, and a proprietary Mobile Graphics Lab — supported by a 100+ person veteran team that handles the full design-to-installation workflow for event-based brand activations.

The business is project-based, with revenue generated primarily through custom build contracts for tournament and event sponsorships, supplemented by year-round recurring programs such as the Tito's Handmade Vodka Stillhouse Lounge, which travels across multiple events on an annual cycle. The company also operates a small professional services arm (Fleet Feet, Optum, Grant Thornton engagements) and, as of July 2025, a sister company, Salem Design-Build, that extends its fabrication capability into permanent commercial construction and design-build work. The firm is privately held under long-tenured owner/CEO Jeff Ickes (in the role since 1997) and discloses no external funding; recent executive additions (CFO Ben Weisensel, COO Anthony Bele) suggest active scaling. Salem Sports reports cumulative metrics of 1,000+ sports events executed and 500+ premium brand clients served over 40+ years.

Name

Salem Sports

Legal name

Salem Sports Events, LLC

Website

https://salemsports.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Salem Sports Events, LLC is a Winston-Salem, NC-based custom fabricator (founded 1984) that designs, builds, and installs branded interiors, signage, and experiential environments for live sporting events, serving Fortune 500 sponsors and major sports properties including the PGA Tour and Formula One.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Event Fabrication and Branded Environments

NAICS

Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (33992), Other Spectator Sports (711219)

SIC

Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Event Promotion & Tournament Operations (MPAKAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

General Consumer Expos & Trade Shows (MPAGAFAA)

Keywords

• Custom event fabrication
• Signage and graphics
• Mobile retail activations
• Design-build services
• Branded environments

Headquarters

HQ city

Winston-salem

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Fabrication and Installation Projects: Project-based custom fabrication and installation of hospitality interiors, branded environments, signage, and mobile activations for live sporting events and commercial spaces. Revenue is earned through one-time project fees encompassing design, fabrication, logistics, and installation.
2. Design Services and Project Management: Professional services revenue from design conception, project management, and consulting for commercial design-build projects. This stream includes permanent construction, remodeling, and design-build services delivered through sister company Salem Design-Build.
3. Manufacturing and Fabrication Services: In-house manufacturing of custom millwork, metal fabrication, and digital printing for both event-based and permanent commercial installations. Revenue generated through fabrication fees for components produced in-house.
4. Sponsorship Activation and Mobile Retail Programs: Delivery and management of mobile sponsorship activations and pop-up retail programs for brands, including transportation, installation, maintenance, and teardown across multiple event venues.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Salem Sports Events is a custom fabrication and event interiors provider that designs, manufactures, installs, and tears down branded environments, hospitality suites, signage, and mobile activations for live sporting events and commercial installations. The company operates an in-house manufacturing footprint including CNC machining, custom millwork, metal fabrication, and a mobile large-format digital printing lab, delivering end-to-end project execution for enterprise clients such as the PGA Tour and Formula One.

Product overview

Salem Sports Events operates as a unified product platform offering temporary and permanent custom interiors, mobile retail and marketing programs, iconic signage, branded decor elements, and digital format printing solutions. The company is structured around two primary brands: Salem Sports Events (temporary event-based services for hospitality interiors, merchandise & retail, sponsorship activations, and digital printing) and its sister company Salem Design-Build (permanent new construction and remodeling services for commercial and residential spaces). The portfolio includes specialized offerings such as the mobile Player Recovery Center for the PGA Tour, Mobile Graphics Lab for on-site printing, and the Salem Stewardship & Impact Fund for community engagement. The core value chain encompasses design, manufacturing (custom millwork, metal fabrication, CNC machines, digital print shop), logistics, and installation services across sports events, brand activations, and commercial installations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Salem Stewardship & Impact Fund: Community investment initiative focused on youth programs, school-based initiatives, and regional community events. The fund supports organizations including Second Harvest Food Bank NWNC, Crossnore Communities for Children, H.O.P.E. of Winston-Salem, and various local charitable causes.

Products and services

• Salem Sports Events (Sports & Events Interiors Service)
• Player Recovery Center
• Sponsorship Activations
• Hospitality Interiors
• Merchandise & Retail (Event)
• Iconic Signage
• Commercial Merchandise & Retail (Design-Build)
• Commercial Hospitality (Design-Build)
• Commercial Athletics (Design-Build)
• Salem Design-Build
• Mobile Graphics Lab

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% on-time delivery commitment for live event projects where punctuality is critical.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• WXII 12 (NBC affiliate)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2025Salem Sports Events partnered with WXII 12 as a matching sponsor for the annual WXII Food & Fund Drive benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina. Salem pledged to match donations dollar-for-dollar up to $25,000, leveraging the news outlet's audience to amplify the charitable campaign.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Momentum Worldwide: Momentum Worldwide is a global experiential marketing agency creating brand experiences, sponsorships, and activations for major consumer brands — a broader incumbent in the experiential services space where Salem operates.
• Jack Morton Worldwide: Jack Morton is a large global brand experience agency producing experiential campaigns, events, and activations for major brands — overlapping with Salem's experiential services but operating as a broader creative agency rather than a fabrication specialist.
• 160over90: 160over90 is a creative agency specializing in sports and entertainment marketing, brand experiences, and sponsorship activations — comparable to Salem's sponsorship activation work for major leagues and Fortune 500 brands.
• George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: GPJ is a large experiential marketing agency producing brand experiences, events, and activations globally for major technology and consumer brands — a broader incumbent serving adjacent markets to Salem's live-event fabrication niche.

Direct peers

• GES (Global Experience Specialists): One of the largest custom exhibit and event services providers globally, GES designs, fabricates, and installs branded environments for trade shows, corporate events, and live experiences — closely paralleling Salem's end-to-end event production model.
• MKG: MKG is an experiential marketing agency delivering brand activations, event design, and custom fabrication for major consumer brands — closely aligned with Salem's brand-activation services for Fortune 500 clients.
• Derse: Derse designs and fabricates custom exhibits, brand activations, and event environments for leading brands and trade shows, with end-to-end in-house capabilities similar to Salem's integrated model.
• Czarnowski: Czarnowski is a custom exhibit and event fabrication specialist serving trade shows, brand activations, and corporate events with in-house design and production — directly comparable to Salem's integrated design-build approach.
• Sparks: Sparks is a brand experience agency specializing in custom fabrication, event design, and sponsorship activations for major sports and entertainment clients — directly comparable in client mix and delivery model.

Emerging players

• EWI Worldwide: EWI Worldwide designs and builds custom brand experiences, exhibits, and live event environments — a smaller-scale emerging player with overlapping capabilities to Salem's custom fabrication and event production services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@salemsportsevents
• Facebookfacebook.com/SalemSports
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/salem-sports-inc.
• Instagraminstagram.com/salemsportsevents

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Salem Sports