Hats off to Lids as brand uses Pacers caps to break two world records on National Hat Day

Global headwear leader Lids (USA) celebrated National Hat Day with the Indiana Pacers, setting two Guinness World Records titles.

The attempts put New Era hats centre stage and unfolded during the week of the Pacers’ basketball matchup against the Toronto Raptors. 

Lids is the largest licensed sports retailer in North America, selling fan and fashion-oriented headwear and apparel. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Lids partnered with their local NBA team, Indiana Pacers to celebrate amongst their fellow community members.

They took on the challenge at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the Pacers, who have a devoted fanbase in the basketball-obsessed state.

The first attempt took place on 13 January on the Pacers court during an off day.

A team of 18 Lids’ employees spent just under two hours carefully arranging New Era Pacers snapback hats to spell out “Lids” at centre court.

The sentence included 1,144 hats and claimed the record for the largest hat word.

The celebrations continued the following evening, before the Pacers vs Raptors game where the Lids team attempted their second record.

A team of 17 Lids employees passed out the caps alongside ushers and cheerleaders, who were handing out gameday programs upon doors opening Building excitement ahead of the game, the Lids team joined forces with Pacers DJs, dancers and staff to welcome fans into the building and celebrate National Hat Day.

The Lids team had brought 2,555 hats and distributed 2,546 of them in just under half an hour for the most sport caps distributed in one hour.

Lids didn’t stop there, throughout the game they curated unique fan experiences to celebrate two successful record attempts in honour of National Hat Day. One lucky fan received free hats for a year, customized Pacers hats were dropped from parachutes, dance contests were had and more!

To cap off the holiday, Lids also launched a national sweepstakes where participants were entered for another chance to win a year’s worth of free hats.