The National - New Management

[BobC]

Originally Posted by rand1com

No way it goes to a venue with 250,000 square feet of space. I guarantee that. I have done the National for 13 years and any venue less than 350,000 square feet will not be considered. They are looking for closer to 400,000 Square feet. If it goes to Cleveland, it will be at the IX center.

That is what I was kind of thinking as well Randy, especially when the article talked about the importance of the corporate entities and their expanding presence at the Nationals. The Cleveland IX Center has room to spare compared to Chicago and Atlantic City, so much so that they could expand the corporate, auction house, breaker, and other special areas, and still have plenty of room for more dealers than they have now.

But the downtown area does have more hotel rooms and more restaurants and other amenities. But Cleveland also doesn't have the traffic and congestion of a city like Chicago. You can get a rental car or Uber and pretty much get wherever you need/want to go around the city pretty quickly and easily. And there is an awful lot to see if you want to take the time. But I think most people at the National are really there for the show and the cards/memorabilia most of all.

Plus, the airport is literally next door to the IX Center. You always hear some people have issues with Atlantic City because there is no major airport close by. That isn't an issue with the IX Center. And I know for a fact that proximity is a plus for guests and people coming to the IX Center. The very first National in Cleveland was held at the IX Center in 1997, and I was there getting some autographs. I asked Sandy Koufax while he was signing a ball for me how he liked coming to Cleveland. He stopped, looked up at me with a sort of faraway look, and after a second said he didn't know. He got off his plane, got picked up and brought right over to IX Center for his signing session, and as soon as he was done, they were taking him right back to the airport for a flight he already had booked to go back home the same day. I'm not sure they can do that for autograph guests at a lot of other places. Atlantic City, definitely not. Rosemont has O'Hare nearby, only about 3 miles away, but it is still a lot easier and quicker to get from Hopkins to the IX Center, than it is to get from O'Hare to the John E. Stephens Center. That isn't necessarily a big deal for most people attending the National, but it is one of those little things that the National organizers may pay attention to, and can have some influence on their decision.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by BobC

Plus, the airport is literally next door to the IX Center. You always hear some people have issues with Atlantic City because there is no major airport close by. That isn't an issue with the IX Center. And I know for a fact that proximity is a plus for guests and people coming to the IX Center. The very first National in Cleveland was held at the IX Center in 1997, and I was there getting some autographs. I asked Sandy Koufax while he was signing a ball for me how he liked coming to Cleveland. He stopped, looked up at me with a sort of faraway look, and after a second said he didn't know. He got off his plane, got picked up and brought right over to IX Center for his signing session, and as soon as he was done, they were taking him right back to the airport for a flight he already had booked to go back home the same day. I'm not sure they can do that for autograph guests at a lot of other places. Atlantic City, definitely not. Rosemont has O'Hare nearby, only about 3 miles away, but it is still a lot easier and quicker to get from Hopkins to the IX Center, than it is to get from O'Hare to the John E. Stephens Center. That isn't necessarily a big deal for most people attending the National, but it is one of those little things that the National organizers may pay attention to, and can have some influence on their decision.

I sat next to Eddie Murray on a flight back to LA from the National in 2019 and that is basically the story he told me. The promoters bring them in the day before signing, put them up for one night, then fly them home the next day. They report for duty early in the day to sign mail order and the promoters stuff. It is part reunion with former teammates and fellow HOFers but mostly it is wading through several large stacks of mail order items and stock photos. Then they go onstage at the pavilion and sign their live signings, then they can leave. He opts to go home immediately. I told him about the NSCC from the collector's side: show, dinner party, bar, bed, repeat. I then started running material and jokes about collectors for him. He cracks up and tells me that I should be a comedian. When I tell him I do stand-up on the side, he says that when he first saw me he thought I was Brian Posehn but when I said I was a lawyer he thought I might take it the wrong way, so he didn't mention it. He then was asking me about where I'm from, what I do, etc. I even invited him to the Burbank Comedy Festival where I was going to be performing. At the end he offered me a handshake.

[Leon]

cool story

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

I sat next to Eddie Murray on a flight back to LA from the National in 2019 and that is basically the story he told me. The promoters bring them in the day before signing, put them up for one night, then fly them home the next day. They report for duty early in the day to sign mail order and the promoters stuff. It is part reunion with former teammates and fellow HOFers but mostly it is wading through several large stacks of mail order items and stock photos. Then they go onstage at the pavilion and sign their live signings, then they can leave. He opts to go home immediately. I told him about the NSCC from the collector's side: show, dinner party, bar, bed, repeat. I then started running material and jokes about collectors for him. He cracks up and tells me that I should be a comedian. When I tell him I do stand-up on the side, he says that when he first saw me he thought I was Brian Posehn but when I said I was a lawyer he thought I might take it the wrong way, so he didn't mention it. He then was asking me about where I'm from, what I do, etc. I even invited him to the Burbank Comedy Festival where I was going to be performing. At the end he offered me a handshake.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

I sat next to Eddie Murray on a flight back to LA from the National in 2019 and that is basically the story he told me. The promoters bring them in the day before signing, put them up for one night, then fly them home the next day. They report for duty early in the day to sign mail order and the promoters stuff. It is part reunion with former teammates and fellow HOFers but mostly it is wading through several large stacks of mail order items and stock photos. Then they go onstage at the pavilion and sign their live signings, then they can leave. He opts to go home immediately. I told him about the NSCC from the collector's side: show, dinner party, bar, bed, repeat. I then started running material and jokes about collectors for him. He cracks up and tells me that I should be a comedian. When I tell him I do stand-up on the side, he says that when he first saw me he thought I was Brian Posehn but when I said I was a lawyer he thought I might take it the wrong way, so he didn't mention it. He then was asking me about where I'm from, what I do, etc. I even invited him to the Burbank Comedy Festival where I was going to be performing. At the end he offered me a handshake.

Eddie is very cool. I bumped into him outside Chantilly one time and had to share the fact that he is the answer to my favorite trivia question as he is the only player in baseball history to lead the entire Majors in batting and yet not win his league batting title.

Willie McGee was hitting .335 in 1990 when he was traded to Oakland where he hit .272 the rest of the year for a total of .324. Eddie batted .331. However McGee had enough at bats in the NL to qualify for the batting crown beating Eddie by 4 points. The AL leader that year was George Brett at.329. So Eddie led the Majors in hitting at .331 with no batting title to show for it.

He listened to the whole thing (which I can't believe he didn't already know) and smiled and said "I bet you win a lot of bar bets with that"