Learn, Explore, Connect and Be Inspired
There are plenty of reasons to attend a trade show. Sometimes you need to find a new piece of equipment. Sometimes you’re researching a renovation. Maybe your facility needs a technology upgrade, your staff needs continuing education or you’re looking for ideas that can make your programs better.
And sometimes, you need to get out of your office, step away from the day-to-day and spend a few days surrounded by people who understand your challenges.
That’s the AB Show experience.
Returning to Orlando Nov. 17–19, AB Show 2026 will bring together athletics, fitness, recreation and military professionals for three days of education, networking, facility inspiration, product discovery and community at the Orange County Convention Center. The schedule gives attendees opportunities to learn, explore the expo and connect with colleagues from across the industry.
Whether this is your first AB Show or you’re returning for another year, here’s what awaits in Orlando.
Look beyond the show floor
Some of the most valuable ideas at AB Show come from seeing successful facilities in person. That’s why Tuesday’s facility tours remain an important part of the experience.
The Collegiate Tour offers a behind-the-scenes look at the University of Florida’s recreation and athletics facilities. For professionals involved in collegiate recreation, it’s a chance to see how a nationally leading institution approaches programming, facilities and the student experience.
The Aquatics and Athletics Tour offers a different perspective, with access to the Rosen Aquatic Center and Lake Highland Preparatory School. Attendees will see the best that aquatics facilities and K-12 athletics facilities have to offer.
The tours are opportunities to ask the questions that only a peer can answer: Why was this facility designed this way? How does the facility operate? What works? What would the staff do differently? And, what ideas could translate to my own organization?
Inspiration
The AB Show conference experience begins before the exhibit hall opens on Wednesday. Attendees can begin their learning experience with afternoon educational sessions focused on real-world challenges facing athletics, fitness and recreation professionals.
The conference program is built around practical solutions and timely industry issues. Leadership, people management, programming, facility operations, design and other topics give professionals opportunities to learn from people who have faced many of the same challenges they encounter every day.
That practical orientation is one of AB Show’s strengths. The goal isn’t education for education’s sake. It is education that can make a difference once you get back to work.
For some attendees, that means finding a better way to manage a team. For others, it could mean discovering a new programming concept, understanding an emerging trend or gaining perspective on a capital project.
Because the industry is comprised of so many perspectives — colleges and universities, parks and recreation departments, fitness facilities, youth sports, military installations and more — there are opportunities to learn from people approaching challenges in different ways.
For professionals seeking continuing education, AB Show offers CEU and CEC opportunities through participating organizations.
A keynote with a personal connection
One of the most anticipated moments of the show arrives Wednesday morning, when Chris Stevenson takes the AB Show keynote stage with “Maximizing Potential: A Journey to Empowerment.”
Stevenson is an entrepreneur, leadership coach and speaker who has spent more than two decades owning and operating fitness businesses. He is also familiar with the AB Show community, having attended the event before being invited to present annually and ultimately deliver this year’s keynote.
His keynote presentation explores self-awareness, mindset, communication and resilience — four areas that can shape how leaders navigate change and bring out the best in their teams.
Attendees can expect an energetic presentation built around practical ideas, humor, storytelling and lessons drawn from Stevenson’s unconventional career path.
See the industry’s future — and touch it
On Wednesday at noon, the AB Show floor opens. Exhibiting companies will showcase equipment, technology, products and services designed to help professionals manage and improve their facilities and programs.
But don’t think of the expo as simply a place to collect brochures. AB Show’s exhibit floor is designed for discovery.
Interested in upgrading your fitness equipment? Bring your sneakers and be sure to try the latest and greatest equipment on the market. Interested in pickleball? Explore the pickleball area. Partner areas bring specialized communities and expertise into the broader AB Show experience.
For professionals responsible for capital projects, the expo provides something particularly valuable: the opportunity to compare solutions side-by-side. Attendees can see equipment, ask questions, talk with manufacturers and suppliers, and begin conversations about the needs of their own facilities.
Pickleball and padel take center stage
One notable addition to AB Show 2026 experience is the presence of the International Association of Pickleball & Padel Facilities (IAPPF). Its conference and expo brings another segment of the sports-facility industry into the AB Show community.
The partnership connects facility owners, operators, developers, suppliers and service providers around the business of developing and operating pickleball and padel facilities.
Connect with the people who understand your world
No conference experience is complete without networking. But at AB Show, networking doesn’t have to mean standing around a reception with a name badge and making small talk.
Connections happen during a session when someone asks a question you’ve been wrestling with. They happen when another recreation director is dealing with the same staffing challenge. They happen when you stop at an exhibitor’s booth and realize a product could solve a problem you’ve been trying to address for months.
They also happen during events designed to bring the industry together, connecting professionals across athletics, fitness, recreation and military communities.
Facilities of Merit: Celebrating design and innovation
AB Show is also a place to celebrate the facilities that are moving the industry forward. The Facilities of Merit™ program, presented by Athletic Business, recognizes outstanding athletics, fitness and recreation facilities and the vision, planning and collaboration that bring them to life.
The projects honored reflect the impact thoughtful design can have on the people who use a facility every day — from athletes and students to fitness members, families
and entire communities. They also offer inspiration for professionals considering renovations, new construction or ways to improve the performance and experience of existing spaces.
Invited attendees at the 2026 awards ceremony will have an opportunity to celebrate the winning projects and the teams behind them, including the owners, operators, architects, designers and other partners whose work turns ambitious ideas into state-of-the-art facilities.
The recognition is a reminder that successful facilities are about more than impressive architecture. They are the result of a clear understanding of community needs, careful planning and collaboration across disciplines. For attendees, the awards offer a chance to see what is possible and take inspiration back to their own organizations.
The industry party
Wednesday night, the industry heads to Ole Red in Orlando. The AB Show Industry Party features live music, dancing, food, beverages and an opportunity to connect with AB Show attendees, exhibitors and colleagues from partner organizations.
It’s one of those experiences that captures what makes AB Show different. After a day spent talking about budgets, staffing, facility design, programming, equipment and operations, the industry gets a chance to simply have fun together.
The conversations become less formal. Colleagues become friends. And people who met for the first time that morning may find themselves continuing the conversation over music and dinner.
That’s community — and it is a big part of what AB Show 2026 is designed to create.
Make the most of Orlando
By Thursday, attendees will have had several days to fill notebooks and backpacks, meet vendors, see facilities, earn continuing education credits, reconnect with colleagues and gather ideas. The expo remains open Thursday morning and early afternoon, providing another opportunity to visit exhibitors and make final connections before AB Show 2026 concludes.
But the real test of a successful show comes after everyone goes home. What will you have taken with you?
Maybe it’s a new piece of equipment. Maybe it’s a new approach to leadership or a programming idea you can’t wait to try. Maybe it’s the name of someone you met who can help solve a problem six months from now.
Or maybe it’s simply the reminder that you’re part of a larger professional community — one filled with people who care deeply about creating better facilities, stronger programs and better experiences for the people they serve.
That’s what awaits in Orlando.
Come for the education. Explore the expo. See great facilities. Make friends among peers. Hear a keynote that challenges you. Celebrate the industry.
Leave AB Show 2026 with something that matters long after the lights go down at the Orange County Convention Center: new ideas, new connections and a renewed sense of what’s possible.
