Contest Staging for Nathan’s Famous

Contest Staging for Nathan’s Famous Since 2010, McLaren Engineering Group has inspected and engineered the staging structures for Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog-Eating Contest. The annual pop-up event typically takes place on the sidewalk outside Nathan’s Famous flag ship restaurant on the corner of Surf and Stillwell avenues near the Coney Island boardwalk in NYC.

Temporary Staging

A full-scale setup of Steeldeck’s prefabricated temporary staging assembly happens the night before the big event. Each year, the setup is revised to reflect the current needs of the contest and McLaren’s entertainment team is on hand to verify the temporary staging design is constructed within code and can support the intended loads.

NYC Building Code Inspection

Our inspection of the main stage, judges’ platform, press stage, and media platform ensures safety for the performers, workers, and the more than 35,000 fans in attendance.

Final Progress Inspection Walk Through

2021 Contest Staging Alterations

2021 Event hosted at Brooklyn Cyclones stadium at Maimonides Park

Due to Covid-19 era precautions, pandemic restrictions forced a venue change for Nathan’s annual pop-up event. The contest moved down the boardwalk to a larger venue for its 2021 competition. The staging was set up in the more spacious field at Maimonides Park, the stadium home of minor league baseball team the Brooklyn Cyclones. Although the staging set up for the event was similar to previous years, the live audience was capped at 7,000.