The National is coming to Detroit, Michigan but will it return to the east coast?
The National Sports Collectors Convention (NSCC/The National) just wrapped not too long ago. Taking place at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. While the National will return to Rosemont in 2026 and 2027, it was announced by the organizers that the 2028 event will take place at the Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan. This will be the first time the National will take place in Detroit. While my colleague Lucas Mast did an excellent breakdown of what the 2028 event could be like, I wanted to discuss where future events might take place. Specifically I wanted to focus on the question as to if the NSCC would return to the east coast.
For some context, over the course of the NSCC’s forty five year history, the event has taken place on the east coast eight times, the last three of which were at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. After initially being canceled due to COVID in 2020, the most recent National to happen in Atlantic City was in 2022. Now that collectors know that Detroit will be the host in 2028, this seven year gap would mark the longest stretch between NSCC events taking place on the east coast since the early 2000s and from what recent history tells us, it will probably get a bit longer.
My reasons for coming to this conclusion are numerous. First, having the NSCC in a centrally located region such as the Midwest is more convenient for dealers and collectors. The central location allows for easier travel for collectors and dealers on the west coast without inconveniencing those that live out east versus being in Atlantic City or Baltimore. Also in terms of logistics, Atlantic City is not as easy to get to as other midwestern locations for traveling by air. While Atlantic City does have a small airport, the majority of major air travel would be flying into larger cities with bigger airports such as Newark, New Jersey or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both cities are roughly an hour and half to two hours outside of Atlantic City adding more travel time and expenses for collectors and dealers. The venue itself also presented some challenges.
While spacious, the Atlantic City Convention Center did have issues with Wifi and cell service inside the event space. While it’s possible the organizers of the NSCC could look outside of Atlantic City, historically, the organizers have always used the same places to host the event as the Stephens Center, I-X Center in Cleveland and the Atlantic City Convention Center have taken turns hosting the event over the past 13 years with the majority happening in Rosemont. Lastly, and most importantly, the NSCC probably doesn’t want to compete with Fanatics Fest which takes place around the same time at the Javits Center in New York City. As far as I know there does not appear to be any overt bad blood between Fanatics and the NSCC and Fanatics did have a strong presence at the National. However, while Fanatics Fest and the NSCC do have some differences, there’s enough overlap between the two events that it doesn’t make sense for either group to hold events in the New York/ New Jersey area and compete with one another.
Again, I am speculating, but I am basing that speculation on the information collectors have at hand. The NSCC organizers could very well announce at next year’s event that they plan to return to Atlantic City, New York City, or maybe return to their roots for a west coast NSCC taking place in Los Angeles in the future. However, based on what we know from recent history, I wouldn’t bet on it.
