The NSCC: If Not Cleveland, Where?

The NSCC: If Not Cleveland, Where?

With the recent conclusion of the 44th National Sports Collectors Convention, there was one thing just about everyone who attended could agree on.  It’ll be a long time, if ever, before the NSCC returns to Cleveland’s I-X Center.  There were the lines.  There wasn’t enough parking.  The hotels were miles away.  There were lines to use the men’s room.  The food options were limited and expensive.  

Did I mention there were lines?

This was the fifth time I’ve attended a Cleveland NSCC, and while the previous four seemed to go off without a hitch, this year’s was different.  The I-X Center was unprepared for the avalanche of collectors that descended.  It took me over an hour to get out of the parking lot on Wednesday.  But to be fair, I-X Center management did adjust as the week wore on.  But that first day, especially for those experiencing their first Cleveland NSCC, left a bad taste. 

If not Cleveland, where next?  For the next three years it will be on familiar turf: The Donald Stephens Center in Rosemont, IL – which will be hosting its record twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth, NSCCs in 2025, ’26, and ‘27.  Part of what makes The National, “The National” is that its in a different city every year.  And while I understand the love for Rosemont, not moving the NSCC around to different markets risks it from becoming nothing more than a regional show.  If it’s going to be in the same place every year, why bother going?

(There used to be a rule that the NSCC could not only not take place in the same building in consecutive years, not only could it not take place in the same state in consecutive years, but it couldn’t even take place in a bordering state.  That meant that if the NSCC took place in Rosemont, the next year’s could not take place anywhere in the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, or Indiana.  That rule was quietly dropped.) 

So, if we’re not going back to Cleveland again, and once we get sick and tired of Rosemont every year, where else could The National go?  I’ve assembled a table with the largest convention centers in the US, along with those facilities that have hosted NSCCs before.  And for comparisons sake, I’ve also included the sites of the regional Philly and Chantilly shows.

Name	Location City	Exhibition space(sq ft)	Previous NSCCs
McCormick Place	Chicago	2,670,000	93
Las Vegas Convention Center	Las Vegas	2,500,000
Orange County Convention Center	Orlando	2,100,000
Georgia World Congress Center	Atlanta	1,500,000	92 99
New Orleans Morial Convention Center	New Orleans	1,100,000
Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center	Dallas	1,000,000
Pennsylvania Convention Center	Philadelphia	1,000,000
Sands Expo and Convention Center	Las Vegas	936,600
Mandalay Bay Convention Center	Las Vegas	861,231
George R. Brown Convention Center	Houston	853,000	94
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center	New York City	850,000
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center	Rosemont, IL	840,000	98 02 05 08 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 26 27
Anaheim Convention Center	Anaheim, CA	815,000	91 96 00 06
Cleveland Convention Center	Cleveland	767,000
Huntington Place	Detroit	723,500
Los Angeles Convention Center	Los Angeles	720,000
NRG Center	Houston	706,000
Walter E. Washington Convention Center	Washington, DC	703,000
Moscone Convention Center	San Francisco	700,000	87
San Diego Convention Center	San Diego	615,700
I-X Center	Cleveland	550,000	97 01 04 07 09 14 18 24
America's Center	St. Louis	523,000	95
Atlantic City Convention Center	Atlantic City	500,000	03 16 22
Baltimore Convention Center	Baltimore	425,000	10 12
Arlington Convention Center/Live! by Loews	Arlington, TX	251,000	86 90
Greater Philadelphia Expo Center	Oaks, PA	240,000
Dulles Expo and Conference Center	Chantilly, VA	123,845

As you can see, there are a lot of facilities that could, in theory, host an NSCC.  Many of these are in large cities with all the amenities (hotels, restaurants, et al) that a place like the I-X Center lacks.  Also, the NSCC probably doesn’t need all the space many of these centers have – probably around 500,000-750,000 sq ft.  (One of the reasons why the NSCC stopped going to Baltimore, and started going to Atlantic City, was the lack of space in the Baltimore Convention Center.)  There’s also the matter of expense.  Yes, having an NSCC in Los Angeles or New York City would be great.  Not so great, if it means the extra expense of transportation, hotel rooms, meals, et al.  Remember, most of us attending The National want to spend our money on cards, not on $450/night hotel rooms and $100 dinners.

Looking at this list, there are only four places where we can realistically have The National anymore: Rosemont, Atlanta, Anaheim, and (dare I say it) Atlantic City.  Atlanta and Atlantic City did bid to host in 2026 but were unsuccessful, so there’s interest there.  Previous management of the NSCC (Broggi and Berkus) vowed never to return to Anaheim, however the new management might have second thoughts.  Anaheim may be the only place on the west coast that may be able to host an NSCC – and no, the NSCC is never going to Las Vegas.

On the other hand, with so many collectors (and their Hobby dollars) in the northeast, the only place in that region that could host an NSCC is Atlantic City.  And look, I get the complaints about A.C.  I grew up on South Jersey, and I avoid the place as much as possible.  (Have they ever cleaned up that mud pit on the sidewalk in front of the Convention Center?)  But the NSCC needs to be in the northeast at least once every five years.  As Fanatics is about to find out, The Javits Center is just too expensive – unless you feel like paying $60/day for a general admission ticket.  Same with Philly and D.C.  The only place on the eastern seaboard you can have an NSCC is in Atlantic City.  We’ve had two less-than-successful NSCCs in Atlanta already.  But that was the nineties.  It’s been twenty-five years since the south had a NSCC, and I think the south is ready for one.  

I mentioned that Atlanta and Atlantic City both placed bids for the 2026 NSCC, and I think The National may be at a point where it’s large enough to be “bidable.”  Who knows, but maybe there’s a city we haven’t thought of, or what we think is out of our league (e.g. Los Angeles, Orlando, Houston, et al), who puts together a package, and sprinkles just enough corporate welfare to bring the NSCC to their city.  

So, there you have it.  Every five years, you rotate the NSCC to Rosemont, Atlanta, Anaheim, Atlantic City, and some other city willing to open the checkbook.  And maybe if they get their act together, we can eventually go back to Cleveland.