This Miami-made pop-up from Economy Tent International is built to last for many football seasons.
During the past four weeks, National Football League teams have been practicing and playing exhibition games to fine tune their skills for the start of the regular season on Sept. 4.
This is also the time for football fans to hone their own skills for the upcoming season. We’re talking about tailgating skills.
At 14 stadiums across America starting next week, fans will arrive at games early and stay late, making an entire day of the excursion with a tailgate party. The tools of a tailgate often include a barbecue grill, a cooler, table, chairs, a TV or radio, and even a football to toss around before the pros take the field.
One essential for most successful tailgate gatherings is a canopy tent to protect partygoers from the elements out there in the stadium’s tailgate lots. And, just like your team’s players, you will want a top-quality canopy that will last for many football seasons.
Economy Tent International has been manufacturing its sturdy canopies in Miami, Fla., since 1948. A maker of a variety of unique style and sized tents, Economy Tent offers a 10′-by-10′ pop-up tent that will stand straight and strong and protect football fans from the elements.
“The majority of our business is to the tent rental industry, but when you are talking about a tailgate, it’s a pop-up,” said David Leitner, chief operating officer at Economy Tent. “Our tents are 10-by-10, and they’ve been engineered with commercial-grade frames.”
The 10-by-10 pop-up is known for its durability and the ease of setting it up once you arrive at the stadium. The Economy Tent pop-up is comprised of a steel frame and a vinyl cover, rather than the cloth tops found when purchasing a tailgate tent at a big box store.
“Generally, in very tough or heavy weather, the standard pop-ups don’t do so well,” said Leitner. “But our commercial-grade frame does. From my 25 years here, the pop-ups fill a void in the market. We sell a lot of them.
“It’s not a $110 pop-up; it’s a $580 pop-up. But it has a vinyl cover, not that cloth material that will get wet and drip and wear out. Our pop-up will last from five to eight years, so you don’t have to buy a new tent every season.”
The tent frame weighs 55 pounds, and the cover is 22 pounds, so at 77 pounds total weight the canopy is a bit heavy for one person to navigate. The carry bag that comes with the tent, however, has wheels, making for easy transport to the tailgate area.
The canopy has a D-ring in each corner if you need to secure it to the ground with rope on extremely windy days. Weights can also be used to anchor the four poles that make contact with the ground. The canopy itself comes in many assorted colors, with white, royal blue and navy blue making up most of the Economy Tent stock. They are also available in stripes, and each cover top can be customized if you desire to put a logo or name on it.
Economy Tent sources its steel and vinyl both domestically and from overseas. All manufacturing such as vinyl cutting, vinyl coloring, and welding is done at its Miami headquarters.
“We cut the vinyl right here and weld it together and stitch it together, so you get a strong fit,” said Leitner. “The vinyl is waterproof and is easy to clean if needed.
“The carry bag has a spot for the folded tent frame, and the vinyl needs to be folded separately and slipped into its own slot on the carry bag. When these cloth covers are stored while attached to the frame, the frame slowly wears out the canopy material when it slides around your trunk or a truck bed. It creates holes and weak spots.
“Those fabric or cloth covers will never last as long as our vinyl. We do not use rivets. They’re all nuts and bolts with nice, tight connections. The covers are heat-welded.”
Economy Tent International is a subsidiary of Anchor Industries, a company of more than 300 employees that has been manufacturing American-made tents in Evansville, Ind., since 1892. Anchor purchased Economy Tent in 2011.
The Economy Tent workforce is made up of 35 to 40 people – the majority in manufacturing and the remaining people in sales.
Once people make it from home to the stadium, setting up the tailgate tent takes place faster than you can drink that first beer. Leitner and his team set up the pop-ups for display in four minutes.
Most tents sold by Economy Tent are larger commercial tents with either steel or aluminum frames. But the company’s 10-by-10-foot pop-up, which provides 100-square feet of coverage, fills a void in a market that is filled with either cheap imported products or extremely expensive large tents.
With a pop-up canopy from Economy Tent, tailgaters will not need a new tent cover every season. You’ve likely invested time and money into your favorite team. An Economy Tent pop-up is an investment in your game day experience.
To view Economy Tent products, go to www.economytent.com and search for the Quick & Easy Pop-Up. You can also place an order by phone and get answers to any questions by calling (800) 438-3226.
The Alliance for American Manufacturing does not receive any commission from purchases made through the above links, nor was the organization or author paid for this story or favorable coverage.
Labeling Note: This story is intended to highlight companies that support American jobs and that make great products in the United States. We rely on the companies listed to provide accurate information regarding their domestic operations and their products. Each company featured is individually responsible for labeling and advertising their products according to applicable standards, such as the Federal Trade Commission’s “Made in USA” standard or California’s “Made in USA” labeling law. We do not review individual products for compliance or claim that because a company is listed in the guide that their products comply with specific labeling or advertising standards. Our focus is on supporting companies that create American jobs.
For more on the Federal Trade Commission’s standards for “Made in USA” claims and California’s “Made in USA” labeling law, please also read this guest post by Dustin Painter and Kristi Wolff of Kelly Drye & Warren, LLP.