Rich...You touched on most of the key issues.... Parking, convenient location, affordability (for promoter,exhibitors, and attendees) and LOCAL advertising. National advertising, for the most part, is a waste of funds as more than 95% of the attendees will come from a 50 mile radius. There are several hidden costs that many show dealers, attendees and first time promoters do not consider to get a show off the ground. A "vintage only" show was tried by two different promoters in the '90's. Ed Keetz in New York and Dennis Purdy in Northern California both promoted "pre 1976 shows" and both were eventually phased out. It's a great idea, but not financially feasible today. It would be more efficient to organize a gathering during the week of the National amongst that specialized group as there has been with Postcard, Japanese, and PCL specialists in the past. I still believe in the concept of a local show run by local individuals. It's the responsibility of the promoter to select a varied group of exhibitors. A 50 table show featuring 40 exhibitors with T-206's would be a disaster for the exhibitors and for the 95% plus of attendees who don't collect T-206's. As the posts on this board have illustrated, there is a wide range of interest amongst the core group of collectors here, and keep in mind that the Net54 participants represent a fraction of 1% of the interests in the sports collecting hobby today.
