Entrepreneur Taps Into Tailgating Trend

Tailgating Innovations of Fayetteville wants to take the American tradition of the tailgate party to the next level.

The company offers custom-made tailgating trailers complete with a flat panel LCD TV, a Sony Bravia home theater system with surround sound, a satellite dish and a mounted Freedom Grill with a 180-degree swinging arm.

Company co-founder Brett Baker said the trailers can be outfitted with multiple televisions, electrical outlets, kegerators and even restrooms.

“Pretty much anything you can put in an RV, you can put in one of these trailers,” he said.

The trailers can also be customized by size and color.

A basic 5-foot by 8-foot trailer, which Baker said isn’t really basic at all, includes a grill, a television and ample storage space, and starts at $12,500.

The company is currently building a custom trailer for Signature Bank of Arkansas, which Baker said will be great for entertaining clients.

“It’s really a magnet,” he said. “It draws attention and brings people in.”

Baker and his partners, who all have a background in national retailing, started the company in March when they realized a popular consumer need wasn’t being met.

“Tailgating is a very big trend,” he said. “It’s growing 10 percent annually.”

Baker said the tailgating trailer brings convenience to the party.

“When people are tailgating, they find the teardown is really the issue,” he said. “Either you have to stop tailgating 30 minutes before the game and pack up or ask people to come back after the game and help you teardown.

“This allows you — in seven minutes — to have everything put back in the trailer and locked down and you’re ready to go.”

The company will take the trailers on the road this fall, showing them off at football games and NASCAR events starting with the first Arkansas Razorback football game on Aug. 30.