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Robert SThere used to be some great shows here in New York in the 1980s -- the Armenian Church show comes to immediate mind.
A few years ago, the folks who run the White Plains show threw a large show here in the city and it did OK -- with a mix of high and low end vintage and modern material.
In fact, there's been talk among some of the White Plains and Ft. Washington dealers who used to do the 1980s NYC shows about having another show here in the city.
One dealer in particular, who many of you know (who used to do shows here in the 1980s and still hits Ft. Washington, the Shriner's show and White Plains), has been exploring organizing such an event.
Of course, to make a show work he's talking about doing it the way big shows have always done it -- many dealers selling 1950s-current stuff, as many Vintage (pre-war) dealers as possible, and top flight autograph guests who would draw well (think Willie Mays caliber not Bob Watson and Ed Kranepool who just did the White Plains show two weeks ago).
He never mentioned hedge funds, and I, for one, am glad.
By the way, if you've ever attended the book fairs in NYC you know the prices at the Park Avenue Armory are plain stupid when compared with the exact same items being sold at the Lexington Avenue Armory and the Greenwich Village book shows. I would rather be downtown or in midtown and buy two cards or books for the same price as one on Park Ave.
The obstacles to a NY show are well-known, however:
1) Dealers from out of town don't want to pay NYC hotel prices.
2) Unionized venues (extra charges to load and unload)
3) Parking issues (especially for dealers)
4) Higher rent for the venue itself means higher booth charges
5) Local advertising costs (think Daily News and NY Post)
Of course, The National could more easily hit major cities (NYC, Boston, San Francisco, etc.), but those guys are REALLY cheap when it comes to costs...