Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich Klein
The biggest problem with this type of thinking is the now "famous" quote that Fanatics wants to 10X the hobby. If this is the type of show Fanatics does, then they may 10X the $$$$ but not the people. I think if you really want to grow the hobby, which is an important part of Fanatics contract going forward then you have to have events which appeal to all pocketbook sizes, not just the men/women with thousands of dollars to burn.
Kyle Robertson and his DCS team are doing just fine with their shows which appeal to both the people with $$$ to burn and collectors with a few $$ to spend. Their latest airport show drew over 1K people for 2 days and there was a mix of cards from a quarter to thousands of dollars. Works just fine.
And as for the venue used for the NSCC, yes there are issues but much as you wish this was not true, the tables are sold each year on a priority basis and as such, the dealers, who are making a significant financial effort to be there. (it's a minimum of 3K for the week unless you live close enough to drive home each night) have a right to keep their tables as long as they pay for them each year. It is not our responsibility for deciding what they can and can not bring with them to any show.
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Thanks for the reply Rich, as a promoter and someone who is close to the event I value your opinion. The point of my post, although it did get a little ranty last night, was to highlight the opportunity that the new group has to improve things, or not, I guess if it is working just fine why try to make changes. The new group sounds smart and capable, with their hearts in the right place, it really comes down to what kind of event do you want people to experience.
I produced events for 25 years and found the three most important things are Product, (in my case live music, in your case, sportscards) Vendor experience, and Customer experience. Each of those may take priority over the others at different times during the event but none are more important than the other and each must complement the other for a successful event IMO.
While my events were usually 1/10 of the National, about 10,000 people, I would experience some of the same challenges. I'd have people lined up 5 hours before the show and they'd get edgy. My solution was to hire entertainers and food vendors to walk the line and make people comfortable. Not suggesting that for the National but it worked for me. The other thing that I made sure of was the toilets were always clean and stocked with TP. I hired extra help to do that but as they say "you're only as good as your customers worst memory of your event".
I'm sure the new Team will identify what needs to be done to improve their event moving forward, as you know, promotion is just a series of problems that need solving.