Atlantic City National Surpasses Expectations

ATLANTIC CITY – John Broggi has been associated with the National Sports Collectors Convention since 1984 and has been running the show since 2006.

So what grade would the executive director of The National give Atlantic City in the resort town’s first time hosting the NSCC since 2003?

“I’d give it an ‘A’,” Broggi said, without hesitation.

Broggi was all smiles on Sunday afternoon as he talked about the five-day NSCC coming to Atlantic City for just the third time in its 37 years.

Broggi said he wasn’t exactly sure what to expect in Atlantic City, which has been making news for all the wrong reasons in recent years as one casino after another has been forced to close due to financial struggles.

“We were somewhat apprehensive going in but Atlantic City has exceeded our expectations in every way,” Broggi said. “We’re ecstatic. Everybody associated with the show is ecstatic. People here in Atlantic City have been great to us.”

Broggi said that The National doesn’t reveal its exact attendance from year-to-year but admitted the number of people to make their way to the Atlantic City Convention Center was impressive.

He said there were slightly more people in attendance last year in Chicago but that this year’s show was easily one of the top five National’s of all-time in terms of attendance.

The National featured over 130 former and current athletes and stars signing throughout the five-day event and hundreds of vendors covered the 400,000 square feet of floor space at the Convention Center.

The show is already booked for Chicago next year and again in 2019 with Cleveland lined up in the middle in 2018.

The event organizers will gather input from vendors before deciding on a location for 2020 but Broggi said that Atlantic City will definitely be in the mix.

“While we’re tired and ready to go home, it’s one of those things where we’re going home with a big smile on our faces,” Broggi said.

This week’s show was Floyd Soeder’s first National in Atlantic City. Soeder, of Let’s Play Ball in North Carolina, said he would definitely consider coming back to Atlantic City if the show were to make its way back to town.

“I’m a fan of Atlantic City,” Soeder said. “I was a little skeptical coming in like a lot of people but I enjoy The National this week. I think Atlantic City was good.”

Next year’s show takes place July 26-30 at the Rosemont Convention Center in the Chicago suburbs.

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