National Headed to Chicago Again in 2026
 

Just announced that dealers voted to hold the National in Chicago in 2026 despite Atlantic City offering $1000/booth to dealers.

Vote Breakdown
Atlanta 52
Atlantic City 111
Chicago 170

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...hing%20gif.gif

Classic. AC can't even bribe its way into another show.

That sucks for Atlanta
Not even close
was hoping to go to my 1st nat

Why weren't other cities included in that vote?

I got that email today. It said there were only 333 ballots cast and that was a great turnout. Seems low considering how many dealers set up, no?

There were only around 355 dealers at the 2023 National. Many more booths because dealers have 2,3,4 each but 333 votes is a tremendous turnout based on historically less than half of that.

If you can't get a direct flight, that prospective city should not even be considered. They should've replaced AC with LV on their "ballot".

If I am living in Connecticut by this spring, then Chicago is at least doable.

100 percent. They are still tied to that city. I guess NJ dealers still have pull.

Why can't you still go, Chris ?

Well-never flew before
Plus- I would be lost for sure
So I would need help/friends

So where will it be in 2024 & 2025?

Sounds like great voter turnout. Appreciate the reply too.

Why was Chicago even on the ballot for 2026? That’s my main question, shouldn’t be allowed to be in the same place back to back years. Move it around a little bit, so frustrating. Atlanta, obviously nobody really wants to go there but between AC, Cleveland, and Atlanta maybe it’s worth trying somewhere new?

2024 - Cleveland
2025 - Chicago
2026 - Chicago

Cleveland then Chicago.

I would vote to just leave it in Chicago, if I were voting. But that's just me. Everyone has their own opinion.

Happy to see the pick for 2026.
.

Guess the people like ratty buildings with A/C problems. Let them have it. I'll stay home.

Agreed, no air conditioning and packed in like sardines. Nope I’m all set. I love Cleveland’s very spacious IX center, plentiful parking and nearly half price hotels compared to Chicago, so I’ll certainly be there next year. Then I’ll save my travel money for auctions.

Because this is how it works. LOL

I like the Chicago National since it's only a 2.5 hour drive for me, but the last 2 have had the a/c issues and the lighting in there could use an upgrade. If they fix these 2 issues, then I'm ok with it alternating years moving forward. I still really want Vegas.

Totally right, why should I expect anything else?

Vegas would be a grand location. The knock I heard was that dealers wouldn't want to travel to Vegas, which I find hard to believe.

They would have plenty of dealers that would set up.....maybe not all the old guard that gets tables every year but there absence would be replaced. Should be a rotating system in place for dealers anyways. For the record if it was in Chicago every year I wouldn't mind since that's the location closest to me but would love for them to try west of the Mississippi ONE FRICKEN TIME and see how it goes.

Am I understanding this correctly? The people who set up in Chicago voted where it should be in 2026 and they voted for Chicago.

I personally like Chicago. It’s only 3 1/2 hours from home. Cleveland is about 6 hours, so that’s not too bad for me either. Is Indianapolis a place that’s not a good option? I’m not sure if the needed space is available, but it’s a centrally located location and should have plenty of rooms available.

Yeah, this is nonsense. It seems to be based on this notion that there are no card dealers anywhere west of Chicago. As if there aren't a pile of dealers in California that would come to Las Vegas but not Chicago, same as there are dealers in Philly/wherever that will come to Chicago but not Vegas.

I've been a proponent for Indianapolis hosting the National as well. The Indiana Convention Center ballrooms cover 62,173 sq. ft. Can't remember what the space requirement is for the National----might be a tad bit too small. But when you add in Lucas Oil Stadium, which is connected to the Convention Center, that supposedly adds "up to 183,000 contiguous square feet of space." I have no idea if anyone seriously explored Indianapolis as an option though. Maybe time they should if they haven't yet.

There's a good interview on YouTube with the National organizers.
Basically, they look for venues based on size (needs to be 500K sqft), range of dates in summer, hotels nearby, airport nearby.

A lot of good cities have shows already running every year at the main venues. For the National to come in and every 3 years and say, "Hey give me a week in primetime summer 3 years from now", the venues will always choose the shows that are constantly coming in year after year.

Link is below to anyone interested. They start talking about location selection at minute 13.
https://www.youtube.com/live/aCjPy1d...-CoBzHyRTD-rbp

I Have no dog in this hunt--too old to be going to Nationals now unless they're in D.C./Baltimore/Philly. But it strikes me that the consistent choice of Chicago, Cleveland, and AC are the result of a flawed system not unlike the taxicab medallions in NYC. The long-time dealers in the Northeast, with their top priorities, are always going to vote for a location within a one day drive. And I'm guessing those valuable dealer priorities rarely change, but rather get passed down one way or another. For example, no way H&S loses its high priority just because Bill Huggins passes away. I don't know if there is actually an active marketplace for these coveted dealer slots at the Nationals, but I wouldn't be surprised. So instead of more dealers from the south, west, and southwest--West Coast, Vegas, Dallas, Atlanta, Florida, etc.--having a say in where the Nationals will be held as the country's population and economy move there, the "legacy" dealers from the Northeast continue to be in control and will always be as long as this system remains in place.

A minimum of 600,000 square feet is required for the National so unless there is a different much larger venue, they will not be looking at it.

They can't do Indianapolis because it's too small.

As mentioned, the convention center needs to have a minimum of 600,000 contiguous square feet. Unrelated to venue availability, scheduling, costs, fees, hotels, etc,... I might be missing one or two, but these are pretty much the only convention centers that they will consider:

McCormick Place
Las Vegas Convention Center
Orange County Convention Center
Georgia World Congress Center
New Orleans Convention Center
World Equestrian Center
International Exposition Center (I-X Center)
Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center
Pennsylvania Convention Center
Sands Expo and Convention Center
Mandalay Bay Convention Center
George R. Brown Convention Center
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
Huntington Place
Moscone Convention Center
San Diego Convention Center

Guess air conditioning wasn't a factor in the vote.

Add the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY to that list. It has 1.2 million square feet of contiguous space and is the 6th largest facility in the U.S. Louisville would make a tremendous National location. Louisville is within driving distance of 60% of the U.S. population and easy to fly into. Less than a mile away from Muhammad Ali International Airport. 42 neighboring hotels around the facility and another 8,000 hotel rooms within just a few miles away. 25,000 on site parking spaces and plenty of things to do around the Louisville area.


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Cleveland is less space than Chicago (Source Utube listen to show promoters on Jeremy Lee sports card live talking about Cleveland versus Chicago), coupled with the fact I paid $109 a night for my room at the Loew’s hotel in Chicago, ( so please show me equal level hotel accommodations for half that price In Cleveland) so irregardless of your opinion and frankly I’m fine with anywhere BUT Atlantic City, let’s at least try to be factual accurate when commenting.

Not sure how Cleveland can be spacious when there's going to be LESS dealers there than at Chicago.

And of these with the space requirements need to be available on the date windows the National is shooting for.

Not even close. Chicago was well over 600,000 Sq feet

A lot of these questions and complaints have been answered many times in other threads, but here goes:

Location Issues

1. Square footage is the easiest problem to quantify, there are very few venues that can provide the space needed.

2. Time Frame - You'd be surprised hoe many venues will not book years in advance which the National absolutely has to be able to do. I have heard in the past that this is the problem with Vegas

3. Democracy - If you let the current dealers vote it's going to stay where the current dealers are happiest

As a side note I didn't vote for Chicago.

IMO, the Nat'l should rotate venues across the country- west coast, east coast, mid-west, etc. Would keep it fresh, exciting, etc. Just my 2 cents.

Jewish-collector- Good list BTW...Would be cool to see some of them get a shot...

McCormick Place
Las Vegas Convention Center
Orange County Convention Center
Georgia World Congress Center
New Orleans Convention Center
World Equestrian Center
International Exposition Center (I-X Center)
Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center
Pennsylvania Convention Center
Sands Expo and Convention Center
Mandalay Bay Convention Center
George R. Brown Convention Center
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
Huntington Place
Moscone Convention Center
San Diego Convention Center

Chicago again?

Screwed once more.

Thanks to Mr. Wiki, here is a list of US convention centers that have at least 500,000 square feet of exhibition space.

The first number for each convention center below is the total exhibition space in square footage, while the second number is its overall square footage. Note that Atlantic City is at the bottom of the list with exactly 500,000 square feet of exhibition space...that's where I drew a line in the convention sand. I do not have the contiguous square footage for each place, but if Atlantic City is currently in the mix, then the National organizers are obviously willing to accept under 600,000 sq. ft. of contiguous space.


McCormick Place Chicago 2,670,000 sq ft /9,000,000 sq ft

Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas 2,500,000 sq ft /4,600,000 sq ft

Orange County Convention Center Orlando 2,100,000 sq ft/ 7,000,000 sq ft

Georgia World Congress Center Atlanta 1,500,000 sq ft/ 3,900,000 sq ft

New Orleans Morial Convention Center New Orleans 1,100,000 sq ft/ 3,100,000 sq ft

World Equestrian Center Ocala, Florida 1,026,500 sq ft /1,036,100 sq ft

International Exposition Center (I-X Center) Cleveland 1,000,000 sq ft/ 2,200,000 sq ft

Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas 1,000,000 sq ft/ 2,000,000 sq ft

Pennsylvania Convention Center Philadelphia 1,000,000 sq ft /2,000,000 sq ft

Sands Expo and Convention Center Las Vegas 936,600 sq ft/2,250,000 sq ft

Mandalay Bay Convention Center Las Vegas 861,231 sq ft /2,100,000 sq ft

George R. Brown Convention Center Houston 853,000 sq ft/1,800,000 sq ft

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center New York City 850,000 sq ft/ 3,300,000 sq ft

Donald E. Stephens Convention Center Rosemont, Illinois 840,000 sq ft /1,000,000 sq ft

Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim 815,000 sq ft /1,600,000 sq ft

Cleveland Convention Center and Global Center for Health Innovation Cleveland 767,000 sq ft/1,002,000 sq ft

Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter Perry, Georgia 738,204 sq ft/781,831 sq ft

Huntington Place Detroit 723,500 sq ft /2,400,000 sq ft

Los Angeles Convention Center Los Angeles 720,000 sq ft /867,000 sq ft

NRG Center Houston 706,000 sq ft/1,400,000 sq ft

Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington, D.C. 703,000 sq ft/2,300,000 sq ft

Moscone Convention Center San Francisco 700,000 sq ft/2,000,000 sq ft

San Diego Convention Center San Diego 615,700 sq ft/2,600,000 sq ft

Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center Harrisburg, PA 593,872 sq ft/634,507 sq ft

Colorado Convention Center Denver 584,000 sq ft/2,200,000 sq ft

Indiana Convention Center Indianapolis 566,600 sq ft /1,300,000 sq ft

America's Center St. Louis 523,000 sq ft /2,700,000 sq ft

Boston Convention and Exhibition Center Boston 516,000 sq ft/ 976,000 sq ft

Salt Palace Convention Center Salt Lake City 515,000 sq ft/ 679,000 sq ft

Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center San Antonio 514,000 sq ft/1,500,000 sq ft

Miami Beach Convention Center Miami Beach 502,000 sq ft/ 1,000,000 sq ft

Atlantic City Convention Center Atlantic City, New Jersey 500,000 sq ft /1,000,000 sq ft


Brian (you can thank me later for removing square meter amounts)

Rosemont is a great locations for the National why not make it there every two years with Cleveland...... so two years Chicago one year Cleveland. I bet that’s they do. The gray breads hate change they love routine and commonplace that’s comforting and has a past experience with.

It's needs to be minimum of 600,000 contiguous square feet.

Then why, at 500,000 total exhibition square feet, was Atlantic City a candidate?


Brian

And the Stephens Center has only 567k sqft of contiguous exhibit space (another 220k is upstairs) https://rosemont.com/desconvention/w...1_RGB_2014.pdf

I love Chicago aside from the AC issues, which were miserable this year. I wonder if I can get into the 2025 show wearing nothing but a speedo and a dealer badge?

Considering all the dealers on the waiting list to get into the NSCC, I'm surprised that some very enterprising sports show promoter (hello Joe D.?) hasn't decided to have a go at establishing an annual "Winter NSCC." IMO, January or February would be a good time of the year. How about Las Vegas, New Orleans, or San Diego for a location. One major benefit for dealers and collectors would be not having to suffer inadequate air conditioning!! I truly feel that a Winter NSCC would quickly become a huge success.

I think there is misinformation, 500,000 is needed.

That is a great idea Val! A winter convention in a warm location (at least in a non-snow region) just makes sense. REA went from one auction a year for decades to multiple auctions a year, so can the National similarly easily expand to being held twice a year, and the winter convention could end up being just as popular or even more so. And perhaps there would be more convention center availability during winter...?


Brian

EXCELLENT, IDEA, VALKEHL! OF YOUR 3 SITE CHOICES, LAS VEGAS WOULD BE MY CHOICE, GIVING A SLIGHTLY CENTRAL LOCATION, ALLOWING WEST COASTERS A BREAK.

YOU JUST CAN'T PLEASE EVERYBODY. IF CHICAGO GETS THEIR A/C WORKING WELL AGAIN, THAT IS A GOOD CENTRAL LOCATION. LET'S FACE IT, THEY HAVE TO GET THEIR A/C WORKING, LEST THEY DISGRACE THEMSELVES AND BE ELIMINATED AS A CONVENTION SITE FOR ANY AND ALL TYPES OF EVENTS. --- Brian Powell

National Headed to Chicago Again in 2026
 

Out of curiosity, do most dealers drive to the national with all of their merchandise, or do they ship it and fly themselves to the location (assuming that it’s more than a one day drive)? I could see concerns with both shipping merchandise or staying overnight somewhere with a vehicle or trailer full of cards.

Cheers,
Mark


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I drive from South Florida. It takes me two days of driving to get to Chicago, Cleveland or Atlantic City. I think most dealers drive or have their merchandise shipped. It's just too difficult flying as we did in the 90s.

I assumed this was a major obstacle to a West Coast show for East Coast dealers. When I sold a couple of vintage motorcycles this year at the Mecum auction in Las Vegas (I'm on the West Coast) I found a guy in Los Angeles who had a trailer,insurance, and a good reputation. He picked up a dozen bikes up and down California and hauled them all to Vegas and checked them in to Mecum. Smooth process and cost me $600.

Maybe the same arrangement could be made with an enterprising individual hauling several dealers stock out from the East to Vegas.

Thanks Brian & Brian for the kind words. What I would personally like to see happen even more than a Winter NSCC is a Pre-War National. Dealers would be prohibited for selling/displaying anything earlier than 1945. No autograph signers (no living pre-War players). Obviously, this event would be much, much, much smaller than the NSCC and not require a huge, costly convention center. I don't care where it is held, I'll be there! But, I realize the chances of this happening are super slim and none!

The NSCC was held at least twice at Anaheim, quite successfully I believe. Was there a void of dealers from the East Coast for these shows?

62k square feet is smaller than the typical chain grocery store. The Indianapolis Convention Center is much larger than that

The ballrooms are 62k sf but the main exhibit hall is 566k sf of contiguous space

https://www.visitindy.com/meetings/m...ention-center/

That said, I live here and would love for it to be here. But flights to Chicago are a lot easier

62k square feet is smaller than the typical chain grocery store. The Indianapolis Convention Center is much larger than that

The ballrooms are 62k sf but the main exhibit hall is 566k sf of contiguous space

https://www.visitindy.com/meetings/m...ention-center/

That said, I live here and would love for it to be here. But flights to Chicago are a lot easier

I assume you meant (no later than 1945).

And yes, the chance is ZERO!

East dealers may say it is an obstacle, but trust me, most would climb Mt. Everest to make a sale.

Those that want to sell would make it work.

Randy, thanks for catching and correcting my brain freeze.

Everyone talking about west coast this, west coast that…yet nothing has happened out there in terms of a major card show since the 90’s…until last year with Burbank.

The National was there in 2000 and 2006. I think we can call those major shows.

So I was off by a few years.

Needless to say, we are approaching 20 years and it’s not even on the table for another National. I mean we could list all the major card shows and there is exactly ONE, that started a year ago, on the west coast.

You’re telling me that the demand is so high that no one has created a show of significance out there until after the covid boom?


It isnt just because of the east coast dealers.

The NFL did not have a franchise in Los Angeles, the second largest city in the US, for 20 years, and then they almost instantly had two. Sometimes things don't work out as you logically think they would. In the case of the National, it seems like their previous organizing committee determined that the west coast was, for their purposes, not a viable option, even though all the previous conventions in Anaheim were deemed to have been very successful.

I could foresee that the new organizers of the National would, in the relative near future, look into the feasibility of a west coast show, especially if the Burbank Show (in Anaheim) continues to draw strong interest.

Brian

What was the selection process they used 20+ years ago when it actually travelled around? It doesn't seem like that would include a dealer vote. (Or at least not a vote that included the location where the vote was being taken.)

Actually Tri-Star did, until the past few years, a yearly show in San Francisco which probably qualified as a big show. They deemed it was not worth their time and effort to continue with said show.

Adam and some of his friends put on smaller shows in the LA are and you can read this posts about some of the hurdles they had in putting on small shows. Now multiply that with a 10x of tables and you see where some of the problems came from

Ah, the Cow Palace. Took the arduous journey into that one and IIRC, there wasn't nearly enough vintage to sate the appetite. It seemed at its heart to basically be a huge autograph show, right?

Cleveland is 2.2M sq.ft which is almost 3x the size of Donald E. Stevens. The largest continuous space is 530k sq.ft vs 250k sq.ft. in Rosemont. Check both websites. Here I’ll even include link’s because I already know you won’t take the initiative to look for facts before calling someone out as “inaccurate”.

https://rosemont.com/desconvention/facility/

https://www.ixcenter.com/plan/floorplans-and-features/

I’ve never found a nice hotel for under $200 a night in Rosemont. $109 seems like an absolute bargain. Most hotels nearby even charge extra for parking. Some charge extra for a continental breakfast.

If you are driving or have a ride, I have to imagine the hotels that are a bit farther away (but not by much) can't be in that price range. My frame of reference is admittedly very dated, but the last Chicago National I attended was in the 2010s. I stayed in Schiller Park, an 8 minute drive away. Hotel was much above average and in the $70 range via Priceline. Even with the ridiculous price hikes for accommodation, can it possibly be more than $150 today?

A slightly below average room in the Cleveland area was still under $80 in 2018. I've never stayed incredibly close to the I-X. Used to be able to find a nicer place in the $50-60 range a handful of years prior with courtesy limo rides (Lincoln Towncar or SUV) to any place within a certain radius of the hotel. Unfortunately, the convention center wasn't within that radius, but it allowed for easy dinner and drinks. I'm guessing that it would still be possible to find something in the $100-110 range today?

If there was a top 5 list of subjects that will never die and will draw heated opinions one way or another ad infinitum . . . . this one is damm close to the top of the list.

I am not a seller. I am fine with the guys and gals schlepping their cases and boxes around to pick where they want to set up shop. While I like AC for proximity reasons and casinos, Chicago certain makes a lot of sense geographically. I know it's not as easy as just putting together a list of convention space size and throwing a dart at the board.

National in Chicago - always stayed in Schiller Park, usually here http://qualityinnohare.com/

National in Cleveland - usually stayed in Middleburg Heights, North Olmsted, Independence, Brunswick, Elyria etc,... was always an easy drive to the IX Center.

Yes not a ton of vintage and yes because of Tri-Star a lot of autographs. But it was a big show and we have to remember that Vintage (with the exception of the NSCC and a couple of other shows) is not always an major portion of the biggest shows

Rich

The National utilized the entire first floor of the Stephens Center this year which provided 600,000 sq.ft. according to the management company.

The IX Center, no matter the 2.2 million overall sq. ft. figure, has roughly 10% less space for booths than the Stephens Center did this year in one contiguous space. Hence, fewer booths.

If you book hotel rooms early through the National's booking company, you get reasonable rates if not staying across the street from the venue. For that convenience, you will pay appropriately.

Case in point, Hilton Garden Inn 1 mile from the Stephens Center was $139/night with free parking this year if booked through them.

Nice buffet breakfast was $16 but still put the daily rate at $155 + taxes with breakfast.

It was roughly double that rate for the room if you booked directly through Hilton a couple of weeks before the show and parking was an additional $15/day.

You have to plan early for the National if you want the best rates/deals.

So my first year of retirement is going to include a trip to Chicago......
Bob

Don't forget Cleveland has the Rock and Roll HOF, which is a great nostalgia trip and definitely worth a visit if you haven't already done it.

Which Cleveland hotel is: the closest to the IX/traditionally filled first?

They are all roughy 3 miles from the venue so just go to Conference Housing and select the one you want. I think November is the earliest you can actually book but you can request in advance but you have to number them 1-3 so you may not get your first choice.