Cleveland's IX Center to Close - Home to the National

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by conor912

I understand the draw of one big show every year for several reasons I won’t go into. I do wonder how masks would inhibit the social piece of the show, which is a major one for most attendees. It’s a crappy situation for all involved. I do think that some careful planning and consideration could produce a pretty awesome virtual National. I know someone tried one, which I’m sure provided a lot of takeaways. It would require a patchwork (video, audio, IM) of, or possibly its own platform, but it could be cool. Not the same, but cool. You could still charge admission, dealer fees, everything. You could have speakers, lectures, special signings. You can still have breaks. They could run ads (commercials, basically) for corporate sponsors. These could offset the platform costs easily since you have no rent, union fees, etc to deal with. Yes it would be a logistical challenge, but anything that happens will be anyway, so what the hell.

I will assure you Masks had almost no effect on socialization at Kyle's August show. Bigger issues would be with physical distancing what can the corporates do and the autograph areas. The card show area can actually with a few adjustments continue as it was.

Rich