Jacksonville-headquartered sports-merchandise giant Fanatics is preparing to close its distribution facility near Tampa and lay off 286 employees, marking a significant operational shift for the company in Florida.
The facility in question, located in the Riverview/South Hillsborough County area (between Tampa and Manatee counties), will be shut down.
According to the company’s notice, the layoff and closure will begin with operational changes in January, job separations starting March 1, and the projected full closure of the site on July 31, 2026.
Fanatics states that the reason is that the facility “can no longer support the scale, technology and innovation required to meet our long-term goals.” The layoffs hit 286 employees at the facility. Globally, Fanatics employs more than 22,000 people. Fanatics acquired the Riverview site (previously part of the Majestic manufacturing business) in 2017.
The effects will be felt locally: nearly 300 workers are losing jobs, and the closure of a distribution site means fewer facility-based operations in that part of Hillsborough/Manatee counties. For Tampa-Bay area officials and workforce development groups, this raises questions about transitional services, re-employment opportunities, and how the region supports displaced workers.
Additionally, for Fanatics, this signals a strategic re-alignment of its logistics footprint in Florida—possibly influencing how other large e-commerce and fulfilment operations consider the state.
Worker notice & legal issues
Fanatics submitted a Notice to the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) database, as required for mass layoffs, but some legal observers are now investigating whether the company provided the full 60-day advance notice mandated under the federal WARN Act, raising the possibility of legal liability if Fanatics is found to have fallen short of its statutory obligations to affected workers.
