News
Fenway Card Show feeds off success of New England’s popular Card Vault shops
The hobby’s largest sports card shows are held in some of North America’s most exciting cities, from Dallas and Chicago to Toronto and Cleveland, the site of this year’s National Sports Collectors Convention.
But there’s no more exciting venue for a card show than an old, historic major league ballpark.
Card Vault Card Shows will create such a scene May 18-19 at the third annual Fenway Card Show at historic Fenway Park in Boston.
“The Fenway show is definitely unique. I think it’s the most unique and the most special event that we have in our industry when it comes to venue and sports cards,” says collector, promoter and Card Vault owner Chris Costa.
Show Calendar: Find a card show near you
The Fenway show is part of a series of New England card shows that evolved from the success of the Card Vault, Costa’s card shops in the area.
Costa opened his first store in 2021 and now has three Card Vault locations, all near famous sports and entertainment venues. There’s one at Patriots Place in Foxborough near Gillette Stadium; one at TD Garden, home of the Boston Celtics; and one near the Foxwoods Resort Casino. All three locations have been so successful that Costa plans to open two more stores in 2025.
“It has definitely been a successful few years,” he said.
Card Vault, which was named “America’s Best Card Shop” at the 2022 NSCC, is more of a retail store than a hobby shop for seasoned collectors. It features a wide range of retail products, from sealed cases to hobby boxes and wax packs.
Along with its advantageous locations near famous sports venues, Costa’s approach was to create a unique experience that would convert average sports fans into sports collectors.
“We’re very different than your normal, local hobby shop,” he said. “We try to be the entry point for the collector, or the entry point for the fan.
“The experience is designed to be educational, inviting, friendly, clean, upscaled to the point where it offers the best chance for us to convert the average fan into a collector, which, I think, is one of the things our industry needs most—exposing the sports fan that is going to the game to the world of sports cards and collectibles, and unlocking that sleeping inner-collector inside all the fans that are attending these events.”
Costa has parlayed his card shop success into a successful card show business. Card Vault Card Shows hosts a series of events at venues like Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium and Foxwoods Casino. The Fenway Park show this weekend will be its 12th show.
When Card Vault partnered with Big Night Entertainment, the largest hospitality and nightlife entertainment company in New England, expanding into the card show business was a “no-brainer,” Costa said.
With Costa’s hobby expertise and Big Night’s entertainment and show experience, Card Vault has been able to produce unique, interactive shows.
“The card show of the past—like the VFW or the local Elks Club card show—is still an important part of our industry, but we kind identified an opportunity to take the card show and elevate it to more of a mainstream entertainment experience, and we set out to do so in the hometown of our shops,” Costa said. “It’s kind of a way to help promote our stores and promote our brand, and in doing so it kind of took on a life of its own.
“What was just an attempt to bring people together around our card shops really turned into kind of a business in its own and an experience that people really seek out and enjoy every year.”
Costa’s vision was to create a different space and experience than big card shows at large convention centers or in hotel lobbies or banquet rooms.
“Nobody had really ever kind of brought together the hobby—sports cards, trading cards, collectibles and memorabilia—in the actual venues where these teams were actually playing in, and luckily through some of the relationships we have and the proximity of our shops to these venues, we were able to kind of bring together the concept of a sports card show in a sports venue,” Costa said. “It’s definitely been a unique, cool and an appreciated experience by our patrons.”
Card Vault’s first Fenway show in 2022 was the first card show held at a major league ballpark, and it continues to grow. Thanks to partnerships with the Red Sox and Fenway Sports Group, which allows access to the team, ballpark and facilities and helps market the event, attendance has doubled the first two years, from 1,500 attendees per day in 2022 to about 3,500 per day last year. Costa expects about 10,000 attendees for the third Fenway show this weekend.
This year’s event will host 200 vendors, plus sponsors, and a separate autograph pavilion that overlooks the ballpark.
With such a historic backdrop, it is one of the most unique card show venues and experiences in the hobby. Costa believes it will evolve into a destination venue that attracts fans and collectors from all over the country.
“The concourse at Fenway, even though it is a large and historic and awesome space, it obviously has its limitations … but you get the unique experience of walking a show floor and doing deals and trading inside Fenway park,” he said. “There is a bit of tradeoff as far as space … but at the same time, the walking experience is super spacious because we get access to the entire ballpark so guests can make their way into the stands, they can sit up in the bleachers, eat a hot dog. Last year we had people on the warning track. From a guest perspective, if you are buying a show ticket, you pretty much get full access to the ballpark, which I think is super unique and cool.”
The Fenway Card Show will, of course, feature several Boston-area stars, including 14 former Red Sox players, as autograph signers. Popular Sox Johnny Damon, Johnny Gomes and Bill “Spaceman” Lee will be joined on Saturday by pitching legends Juan Marichal and Bartolo Colon. Sunday’s lineup will feature a reunion of the 2004 World Series team, with manager Terry Francona joined by players Derek Lowe, Keith Foulke, Alan Embree, Scott Williamson, Pokey Reese, Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz. Celtics great Antoine Walker will sign for free on Saturday, while pitching legend Denny McLain will be the free signer on Sunday.
The event also will feature several activities for kids, including an appearance by Red Sox mascot Wally the Green Monster. Kids under 12 are free with an adult ticket.
“It’s not just a card show, it is a fan experience,” Costa said. “It’s an event for the most seasoned collector all the way down to young kids looking for a fun thing to do during the weekend. We’ll have something for everybody.”
Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD.
