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What does the future hold for the National Sports Collectors Convention?
ROSEMONT, Ill. – With the successful 43rd annual National Sports Collectors Convention (NSCC) in the books, a new chapter will begin for the 2024 show.
On Nov. 1, JBJ Corporation takes over as promoters of the largest card and memorabilia show in the country.
JBJ Corporation — which consists of longtime card/memorabilia dealers Joe Drelich, Brian Coppola and Jim Ryan — will have big shoes to fill. SMI LLC, run by John Broggi and Dan Berkus, orchestrated record-breaking attendance and the largest show floor in the event’s history this year in Chicago.
Drelich, Coppola and Ryan are tasked with taking the show to the next level while satisfying the needs of the constantly growing collectors, dealers and corporate sponsors that travel in droves to the hobby’s premiere event each summer.
All three guys have vast backgrounds in the industry.
Coppola and Ryan, who run JP’s Sports & Rock Solid Promotions, are also partners for the popular White Plains Baseball Card Show and Long Island Sports Card Shows.
Drelich is the owner of East Coast Sports Marketing LLC. He runs the massive Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show and Collectors Showcase of America (CSA) in Chantilly, Va.
Sports Collectors Digest reached out to JBJ Corporation throughout the week, but the group declined to comment for this story.
“I don’t think we are ready to communicate any other additional information that is not already public knowledge,” Coppola responded in an email.
Established dealers in the hobby are confident JBJ will step in and make a smooth transition into their role.
“They’re dealers and they understand what the dealer’s needs are, they understand that the hobby is evolving, they understand the customer experience needs to improve,” NSCC Board of Directors President Al Durso said. “I’d say do what we’re doing now, but just continue to improve.
“I’d like to see a more diverse group of customers coming in as well — when I say diverse, I mean people coming from other spectrums who may not collect. I know Fanatics is big into 10x, and I love that. I support what Fanatics is saying about bringing in new customers. Bringing people in from maybe non-sports or sneakers or whatever. People who don’t collect cards and bring them into our show.”
Dealers SCD talked to at The National had numerous ideas for what they’d like to see from the new promoters.
“I think they’re going to keep table fees for the dealers good, which keeps our presence of 700 dealers or better in our building. I think that’s a great thing,” Rick Giddings of Gizmo’s Sportscards said. “More promotion. More presence out there showing that the National Sports Collectors Convention is the largest show in the world. I think that’s the things they bring to the table, experience. They bring so much experience to the table.”
“I always want things to be more dealer-friendly. … Sometimes [things] seem antagonistic and you’re just trying to work through issues or concerns. [It’s] kind of like let’s all work together on it,” said Robert Sciulli, manager at Marty’s Sports Cards and Cranks Sports Trading Gallery in Tennessee. “The corporate sponsors are super important and I understand that, but the dealers and us being the face of the hobby and seeing the kids, seeing the adults, everyone, I think that’s a value to The National also, not just the corporate sponsors.”
On the first two full days of this year’s convention — which might have been the two busiest days — most people at the show were disgruntled by the lack of air conditioning in the facility. Sweaty collectors packed the floor as the AC struggled to keep up. The last three days of the show were significantly cooler. National show manager John Broggi said the humidity and temperature weren’t as high outside the last final three days and staff made sure doors remained closed to keep the air conditioning from escaping.
“I’d like to see us be able to do business fully here — Wi-Fi that’s incredible, air conditioning, comfortability, garbage cans, so people can do business here and we can transact and make relationships,” said David Prince, owner of Piece of the Game. “I know the new [promoters] very well. I think they run incredible regionally located shows and if they all put their brain power together, I’m excited to see where this event goes.”
Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President of Sports Joe Orlando would like The National to implement interactive activities. That is what draws big crowds at the San Diego Comic-Con, he said. That could be a game-changer for The National.
“Anyone who has been to multiple Nationals would probably agree that they are starting to do a much better job of bringing more of what I would sort of describe as attraction-based displays, attraction-based booths compared to the past,” Orlando said. “If you’re around my age or older and you’ve been to Nationals going back to the ’80s, ’90s, The National for the longest time was basically just a collection of dealer booths and that was it. It was this many tables or that many tables. Now they’re bringing in more interactive features.
“It’s kind of like some of the professional sports organizations like the NFL Experience, that sort of thing. There’s a show component that sells things and then there’s another part of the show that has more interactive experiences. I think for young kids to appeal to them, you have to offer them a little bit more than just the product.”
Orlando, who lives in Orange County, Calif., has attended Comic-Con a number of times over the years. He’s always been impressed with all that the show has to offer people of all ages.
“They can go to different booths and they can see props from their favorite shows or movies, they bring in actors and do a Q&A with the attendees,” Orlando said. “They do things that are more than just buying and selling. I think if they keep adding that layer to the show, it will attract more and more people, especially the younger crowd.”
Gary Vaynerchuk, an entrepreneur and sports cards enthusiast/influencer, also believes adding an interactive component to The National would be huge for the hobby.
“You can blend Comic-Con and trading cards. You can blend ComplexCon and trading cards and The National. You could have a music element. You could have a lot better food,” said Vaynerchuk, who is known as Gary Vee. “The National is one of a kind. At 14, I one day dreamed of going to The National. It will always be The National, but there’s room in this hobby, there’s room in collecting. We’re all just getting started.”
Collector Edward Nguin roamed the floor of The National on its final day looking for last-minute pickups. He would like to see the show expand even more.
“Get more space, get more vendors in,” Nguin said. “They say that like there’s too many vendors and every year I see them cut back on vendors, there’s less vendors this year than there was last year. I believe next year there’s going to be less vendors than there are this year.”
HOW BIG IS TOO BIG?
Is The National getting too big?
The National never releases exact attendance numbers, but by Saturday afternoon of this year’s show, Broggi had already announced to SCD that it was a record crowd. That means roughly 100,000 people attended the event.
The entire lower level of the convention center — 600,000 square feet — was used for the first time in show history. It was almost a maze, and some collectors said they got disorientated with the layout and having to enter multiple separate halls.
“There are probably 10 or less buildings in the country that can accommodate this show,” Broggi said. “Then you look at the two-week period that we need to have the show in to avoid the conflict with the All-Star Game, to avoid, if we can, the conflict with the Hall of Fame induction, we’ve got like a window of two weeks. We’ve talked to Denver, we’ve talked to Dallas, they have existing events that take that same time frame and are signed ahead for years.”
According to Broggi, there aren’t too many convention centers in the U.S. larger than the Donald E. Stephens facility in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont. And this year, it was stretched to capacity, bulging at its sides, nearly ready to burst.
That begs the question: Can The National get too big?
“I guess it could get too big and we’d run out of space at venues,” Durso said. “But the customers want more and more and more. They want more trade nights. They want more dealers. The dealers, obviously, there’s only so much money going around. But from a customer experience, we can do a better job.”
“I don’t think this can get too big,” Nguin said. “I think you just want to be as large as possible, get in as many dealers as possible. Assuming there was no limit, I would just have as many dealers as possible in the biggest room as possible and try and get as many people in as possible.”
Longtime dealer Les Wolff, who runs Les Wolff Sports, LLC, has an idea for future shows if it has gotten too big.
“That extra room — and it’s mostly grading companies and card companies and breakers — I think they should probably have their own separate show. I think it takes away from it a little bit,” Wolff said. “Make it cards or autograph dealers only, but the biggest thing is, they need to cater more to the kids.”
“If it can get too big, why can’t they do it two times a year to split it up?” Vaynerchuk said. “I think this hobby hasn’t even started. I believe that collectibles are starting to segue into the genre of music, fashion and sports. … I think collecting hasn’t even begun to be what it’s going to be. If The National did this two times a year, there’d be just as many people both times.”
Collector John DeFazio of New Jersey agrees with offering multiple shows.
“They might go East Coast, West Coast, something of that nature,” DeFazio said. “It is certainly much bigger than it has been.”
2026 LOCATION: DEALERS HAVE SPOKEN
With The National already set for the I-X Center in Cleveland in 2024 and back to Chicago in 2025, the location for the ’26 show will be decided shortly.
In order to host The National, a convention center needs to have a minimum of 600,000 contiguous square feet. The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont used the entire 600,000 square feet this year.
According to Durso, this past April, the NSCC Board of Directors brought up 27 locations for review for the 2026 show.
“We sent out information, we had a packed room — there was probably 300 dealers,” Durso said. “We gave them the options, we went to a presentation, 27 sites were selected. We went through what made sense, what doesn’t make sense, and we let the dealers decide.”
It was pared down to three options: Chicago, Atlanta and Atlantic City.
The 2023 show marked the 14th time The National has been held in Chicago or a surrounding suburb. Atlanta has hosted the event just twice (1992 and ’99) and Atlantic City has hosted four times (1988, 2003, 2016 and 2022).
On the Friday and Saturday of this year’s show, the on-site dealers were able to submit their vote. President Durso and the board tweaked the voting procedure this year.
“Instead of doing it through mail, we did it at booth lottery,” Durso said. “Instead of having 100 or 125 dealers decide where we’re going, it’s more encompassing. We probably had 300-400 people. Plus, we’re going to mail the ballets out so that people that were here and didn’t do the show still have a chance.”
Durso is hoping to receive more ballets back in the mail before the final tally. The 2026 location will then be announced at the end of September this year.
Speaking with dealers at this year’s show, it sounds as though Chicago might be the overwhelming choice, though Atlantic City is making a strong push by offering dealers $1,000 to return to the New Jersey coastal town.
“This is the carnival of all the shows,” said Giddings, who voted for Chicago. “It seems to draw more than anywhere else, the facilities are best here. More food places, hotels. You got the Blue Line [train] right here, you got the airport right here. People like convenience, and that’s what’s great about Chicago.”
Longtime dealer Kit Young, who has only missed two of the 43 Nationals, also voted for Chicago.
“To me, it’s a no-brainer,” Young said. “It’s easy to get to from all over the country, hotels on the spot, great facility, big spot and 20 million people within two or three hours.”
“I’m on the board and I try to stay [neutral] like Switzerland,” Savage said. “I voted for one of them, but I’m not going to share that with anybody. If the show is in Bismarck [N.D.] next year, I’ll go to Bismarck or to Montana or wherever it is. It is still The National. It’s still our best show of the year.”
Even though Savage won’t reveal which city he voted for, he’s partial to Chicago.
“Chicago is generally my favorite, but I firmly believe that the show should move around,” Savage said. “I don’t believe The National would be what it is if we always had it in Chicago from day one, so I hate to always go to Chicago. I like Cleveland, I even like Atlantic City. To me each site has its own pros and cons.”
Prince would also like to expand the options and have The National rotate around the country.
“You open up the doors to change. Different locations give you different things to look at,” Prince said. “I went to Seattle for the first time for the All-Star Game a few weeks ago, I was amazed by the scenery and breathtaking views. Everybody should experience that. Going to different places opens up your horizons to different things.”
Rich Klein, a longtime collector and show promoter, would choose Atlanta.
“I love Chicago, but I love it on the every other year rotation. … I think we need to keep trying newer areas, and Atlanta is showing with culture collision and other things that they can support a National,” Klein said. “Maybe they couldn’t in the ’90s when they tried, they can now.
“I’m always in favor of moving around. We haven’t been on the West Coast with The National since 2006. It’s an underserved market. One of the problems with the voting is you have a lot of Midwest and East Coast dealers, they don’t want to go to California. But it’s really showing to be an amazing area for collecting.”
Sciulli also submitted his vote for Atlanta.
“Two reasons: we’re an hour and a half away; but the last Atlanta show … it was a horrible show, and Atlanta’s changed so much. The metropolitan area is very sports-oriented and it’s easy to get to,” he said.
Orlando, who used to be the CEO of Collectors Universe, the parent company of PSA, is a West Coast guy through and through. But he loves all that Chicago has to offer.
“I think a lot of dealers and collectors — a lot of them — would be very supportive if they kept it in Chicago every year,” Orlando said. “It is so easy to get to, it’s right by the airport, there are so many hotels within walking distance, there’s restaurants all over the place, it’s a great sports town. It just makes sense.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for not only the exhibitors to get here, but collectors, the attendees to get here. What better venue than the Rosemont center. If they decide one day to have The National in Chicago every year, they have my vote, even though I don’t have an official vote.”
— Greg Bates is a freelance contributor and editor-at-large for Sports Collectors Digest. He can be reached at gregabates@gmail.com. SCD editor Jeff Owens contributed to this story.
