Chicago, Not Anaheim, Site of ’98 Collectors Convention

Chicago was selected over Anaheim to host the National Sports Collectors Convention in 1998, in a vote taken by members of the Sports Collectors Assn. over the weekend at Anaheim Convention Center.

Both bids were submitted by Sports Management Group, the Arcadia promotion company that staged last week’s 17th annual event in Anaheim. But although the 1997 convention will be in Cleveland, the event will return to the Midwest in 1998.

“Believe it or not, a lot of people [in the hobby] don’t consider Cleveland to be in the Midwest,� said Lou Costanzo, managing general partner of SMG. “The feeling is that they want to rotate the convention between the East, the Midwest and the West. But we’ll make every effort to bring it back to Anaheim in 1999.�

With an official attendance just under 60,000, last week’s event was the second-best attended in the 17-year history of the convention, topped only by the 100,000 who attended the 1991 convention, also in Anaheim.

While the 1991 event had the advantage of being scheduled over a Fourth of July weekend--and was marked by a frenzy for the free promotional cards given away at the door--last week’s event had a more relaxed, family-oriented atmosphere. Using four halls to create a 600,000-square foot facility eased crowding, and an interactive area sponsored by Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NBA and the NHL kept hundreds of youngsters busy.

“I’ve never seen so many strollers, and families, at a National before,� said Costanzo. “The comments we’ve received have been very positive, and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun.�

Chicago will join Southern California as a four-time host of the convention. The first convention, in 1980, was in Los Angeles, with Anaheim also hosting the 1985 event.