Any Buzz on 2027 Location?

[DR Murph]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

We’re talking about show promoters who allowed a board member to set up with a giant ass booth of showcases containing one card each and some one touches. These guys could be far more successful if they weren’t so clueless.

The take: See! This is an example of why they could be far more successful! So clueless!

Reality: Didn’t attend the show. No one cares. Show set an all-time record for attendance. Weird.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by DR Murph

The take: See! This is an example of why they could be far more successful! So clueless!

Reality: Didn’t attend the show. No one cares. Show set an all-time record for attendance. Weird.

Let me guess who you’re voting for.

Never seen someone so defensive about something they have zero stake in.

[OhioLawyerF5]

TIL when you call out someone's ignorant take it's defensiveness. Who knew?

[DR Murph]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Let me guess who you’re voting for.

Never seen someone so defensive about something they have zero stake in.

Realities aren’t political. I’ve never seen someone offer so many negative opinions on something they aren’t participating in. Still weird.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by DR Murph

Realities aren’t political. I’ve never seen someone offer so many negative opinions on something they aren’t participating in. Still weird.

It's called deflecting. It's what he does when he knows the point he's arguing is ridiculous.

[mfisher27]

The suggestion to move the Autograph Pavilion or Case Breakers area to another floor seems to be brought every year, no matter what location. Has that ever been done?

I understand it makes sense spatially but I'm guessing there's a less than zero percent chance Tri-Star agrees to that. Autographs aren't exactly impulsive BUT you can't have it completely out of sight. I'd also imagine accessibility would be an issue since people walk around the show before/after signings. You'd be hard pressed to get everyone on board to take stairs, elevators, escalators, etc. to a secluded area for autographs.

[notfast]

Originally Posted by Rooftop

Nashville would kill it

This is the correct answer.

[notfast]

Originally Posted by mfisher27

The suggestion to move the Autograph Pavilion or Case Breakers area to another floor seems to be brought every year, no matter what location. Has that ever been done?

I understand it makes sense spatially but I'm guessing there's a less than zero percent chance Tri-Star agrees to that. Autographs aren't exactly impulsive BUT you can't have it completely out of sight. I'd also imagine accessibility would be an issue since people walk around the show before/after signings. You'd be hard pressed to get everyone on board to take stairs, elevators, escalators, etc. to a secluded area for autographs.

I mean they were pretty much out of sight, out of mind this year….which was great.

You did not have to see breakers if you didn’t want to. Autograph area you could see if you went to the final row of dealer booths.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by DR Murph

Realities aren’t political. I’ve never seen someone offer so many negative opinions on something they aren’t participating in. Still weird.

So because I haven’t had the luxury of having a work or home schedule conducive to going the last few years, I can’t have an opinion on the show? Must be nice to be able to go every year.

[DR Murph]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

So because I haven’t had the luxury of having a work or home schedule conducive to going the last few years, I can’t have an opinion on the show? Must be nice to be able to go every year.

I too am not able to attend every year, so totally understand scheduling conflicts with the show. But the original point stands—it is weird to want to continually trash the National/show promoters when you haven’t been attending the show. Seems that criticism has more weight when someone actually knows what they are talking about through first hand experience. Instead it sounds a lot like POMO. If the promoters are so clueless, which implies that they are doing a horrible job, my suggestion would be for you to start a competing show so that you can show them how it’s done. Reality (fact) also stands: this show just hit an all-time attendance record.

[dlangley2]

Originally Posted by Rooftop

Nashville would kill it

Nashville checks a lot of boxes, but I'm not sure there is anywhere with the square footage to host it unfortunately. Looking at it quickly, Music City Center website says they have 350,000 square feet and Opryland's biggest room is around 260,000. For context, IX Center website says they have 530,000 in exhibit space and the Stephens center website puts them at over 800,000. I have not been to either so I don't know how much of that is used for the National, but guessing it would be hard to pull off anywhere in Nashville.

[Brobocop]

Originally Posted by dlangley2

Nashville checks a lot of boxes, but I'm not sure there is anywhere with the square footage to host it unfortunately. Looking at it quickly, Music City Center website says they have 350,000 square feet and Opryland's biggest room is around 260,000. For context, IX Center website says they have 530,000 in exhibit space and the Stephens center website puts them at over 800,000. I have not been to either so I don't know how much of that is used for the National, but guessing it would be hard to pull off anywhere in Nashville.

It doesn’t check the biggest box which is cheap floor space. It’s the biggest box to check, not sure why this keeps being missed by people.

[notoriousrmb]

The 5 guys complaining here would have more cred if the show wasn't seeing record attendance each year.

No show will be perfect, no experience will be perfect, but the number of people going to the National are saying "yes, this is good and we will continue to attend".

I bet Chicago will be just as packed as last year, if not more so.

[nosignofland]

It sure seems as if the promoters' priority is cost, followed by location.

That's my opinion. Here are the facts:

Based on the NSCC's most recent IRS filings (receipts), it appears the nonprofit paid about $480K for the 2023 convention space. (I assume the $480K charge for "Occupancy" is the convention.) Even if Rosemont told 'em they just had to pay for five days and to forget extra time for setup/takedown, that'd still be the cheapest rate -- by far -- of any of the nation's larger convention centers ... and that's based on prices from 2016 (receipts). Five days for 600K of space in Vegas this year would cost about $1.1 million.

It seems as if the NSCC would be hard-pressed to spend much more on a convention center because the nonprofit since 1996 is somehow losing money. It made $1.9M off tickets last year and $2.2M off booths ... but spent $3.4M on salaries and wages, with no officers/trustees receiving any reported money and no employee reporting more than $150K. (The nonprofit reported a loss of $1,100 last year and $3,700 the year before.)

I'm not one for conspiracy theories -- I acknowledge there's simply a lot I don't understand -- but I do wonder how NSCC's expenses add up. I'm guessing it likely just has something to do with a change in accounting practices. But I find it interesting NSCC reported, in 2023, a "Trade Show Expense" of $180K and $3.4M in salaries and wages. And in 2022, NSCC reported salaries and wages of $0 and a "Trade Show Expense" of $3.2M. Curious if others in the industry can speak as to whether that kind of expense is unusual, since it's also more than 6x the "Occupancy" rate.

[Bosoxfan5990]

Originally Posted by nosignofland

It sure seems as if the promoters' priority is cost, followed by location.

That's my opinion. Here are the facts:

Based on the NSCC's most recent IRS filings (receipts), it appears the nonprofit paid about $480K for the 2023 convention space. (I assume the $480K charge for "Occupancy" is the convention.) Even if Rosemont told 'em they just had to pay for five days and to forget extra time for setup/takedown, that'd still be the cheapest rate -- by far -- of any of the nation's larger convention centers ... and that's based on prices from 2016 (receipts). Five days for 600K of space in Vegas this year would cost about $1.1 million.

It seems as if the NSCC would be hard-pressed to spend much more on a convention center because the nonprofit since 1996 is somehow losing money. It made $1.9M off tickets last year and $2.2M off booths ... but spent $3.4M on salaries and wages, with no officers/trustees receiving any reported money and no employee reporting more than $150K. (The nonprofit reported a loss of $1,100 last year and $3,700 the year before.)

I'm not one for conspiracy theories -- I acknowledge there's simply a lot I don't understand -- but I do wonder how NSCC's expenses add up. I'm guessing it likely just has something to do with a change in accounting practices. But I find it interesting NSCC reported, in 2023, a "Trade Show Expense" of $180K and $3.4M in salaries and wages. And in 2022, NSCC reported salaries and wages of $0 and a "Trade Show Expense" of $3.2M. Curious if others in the industry can speak as to whether that kind of expense is unusual, since it's also more than 6x the "Occupancy" rate.

[Pacmeyer]

Originally Posted by notoriousrmb

The 5 guys complaining here would have more cred if the show wasn't seeing record attendance each year.

No show will be perfect, no experience will be perfect, but the number of people going to the National are saying "yes, this is good and we will continue to attend".

I bet Chicago will be just as packed as last year, if not more so.

Packed does not mean well-managed. Sure you will see record attendance numbers next year. You should also expect more thefts and other incidents because show security is nonexistent. If I was a dealer, I’d hire extra help and make sure they’re reliable.

[notoriousrmb]

Originally Posted by Pacmeyer

Packed does not mean well-managed. Sure you will see record attendance numbers next year. You should also expect more thefts and other incidents because show security is nonexistent. If I was a dealer, I’d hire extra help and make sure they’re reliable.

Saying a show needs more security is a valid complaint.

Complaining about the location because you live out west is a tired point that needs to go.

Two different things.

[ThoseBackPages]

the 2024 show was amazing!

[Pacmeyer]

Originally Posted by notoriousrmb

Saying a show needs more security is a valid complaint.

Complaining about the location because you live out west is a tired point that needs to go.

Two different things.

Just as annoying are the arguments to have the show somewhere new and interesting. No need to kill two birds with one stone. The National is enough of a vacation in itself. Those who want to gamble or go to the beach should take another trip.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

the 2024 show was amazing!

This is my take. All the rest is just noise. I simply ask myself, "Did you enjoy the show?" And my answer is a resounding, "YES!" That's really all I care about. The fact that I was able to take my family to Cleveland for 10 days surrounding the show and they say they had a fantastic vacation, is just icing on the cake. Anyone who didn't have a good time was probably focused on the wrong things or didn't put in the effort to have a good time.

[fulltritty]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

This is my take. All the rest is just noise. I simply ask myself, "Did you enjoy the show?" And my answer is a resounding, "YES!" That's really all I care about. The fact that I was able to take my family to Cleveland for 10 days surrounding the show and they say they had a fantastic vacation, is just icing on the cake. Anyone who didn't have a good time was probably focused on the wrong things or didn't put in the effort to have a good time.

What was your opinion on the TriStar Autograph Pavilion?

[oldgoldy97]

Some people enjoy train derailments. Who are we to judge.

[Pacmeyer]

Cleveland for 10 days? I’m sure that’s on every woman’s wishlist.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by fulltritty

What was your opinion on the TriStar Autograph Pavilion?

I tried to avoid it. I thought about getting a Larkin auto on Saturday, but changed my mind. It's just not that appealing to me personally. When I was over in that area of the show, it looks like a sea of people. No idea how the lines moved or anything, but it was definitely crowded over there.

Originally Posted by Pacmeyer

Cleveland for 10 days? I’m sure that’s on every woman’s wishlist.

I know you joke, and it sounds crazy (I thought so myself when we decided to do it), but my wife specifically said she had a better time in Cleveland than we did in Chicago last year (and we had a blast in Chicago). I was concerned we wouldn't have enough to do to fill the 10 days, but by the end, we filled all our time with great activities, and still had several things we would like to have done, but didn't have time. Cleveland might not be a popular tourist destination (although Cedar Point is an hour away and probably the top thrill ride destination on the planet), but for us, who had never spent any appreciable time in Cleveland, there was a TON to do.

[fulltritty]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

I tried to avoid it. I thought about getting a Larkin auto on Saturday, but changed my mind. It's just not that appealing to me personally. When I was over in that area of the show, it looks like a sea of people. No idea how the lines moved or anything, but it was definitely crowded over there.

So, then you can see how those people who go to the National to get autographs, may not have thought it was great and that the below comment by you may be skewed to a different reason for going to the show?

Anyone who didn't have a good time was probably focused on the wrong things or didn't put in the effort to have a good time.

Guess what, going through tons of boxes of cards or showcases with overpriced cards isn't appealing to me. The reasons I and many of my friends attend the show year after year are for the autograph guests and to purchase memorabilia. Can't forget about the Topps Q&A too.

A lot of us who attend specifically for autographs continue not to have a good time thanks to TriStar. VIP/Platinum guests are recycled year after year, no more free inscriptions for VIP guests, 5000 VIP passes sold making lines impossible to get through, cost of autograph guests compared to other shows, changing the Platinum Pass where you don't know which guest you are getting until you get to the show and receive your package, and the constant turn over of inexperienced staff are just a number of reasons why the National is no longer fun for me. I will say that this is the 1st year TriStar did not have credit card issues with their machines on Wednesday night, so they actually fixed one thing while continuing to go down hill on everything else.