The 2024 Spring Sport Card and Memorabilia opens up Thurs., April 25 and runs through Sun., April 28 in Toronto.
The semi-annual show trails only the National as the largest hobby show in North America.
“The show continues to grow and pick up momentum,” said Expo owner and promotor Steve Menzie. “This will be our first Expo with Connor Bedard cards out there, so we are expecting that to drive a lot of interest on the show floor and also for the grading companies.”
Early indications and pre-sales indicate that the Expo will set another show record and eclipse the attendance record set in November’s Fall Expo.
The show is located at the International Centre in Toronto, located near Pearson International Airport at 6900 Airport Road. The show is in Halls 3, 4 and 5 this year. The show will have more than 200,000 square feet of floor space and will include a grading pavilion, corporate area, autograph area complete with a stage for live Q and A sessions for guests, and a large show floor.
While the show is not as big as the National, it is unique in that it is considered the world’s largest hockey card and memorabilia show.
“Hockey is what this show is known for, and it brings a lot of people just for hockey,” Menzie said. “But this show is a lot more than hockey. Collectors will find items and products from all sports. We also have a strong line-up of autograph guests this year that has representation from several sports.”
When the show opens up to the public Fri., April 26, the first autograph guest is Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier, who made himself available from 10:30-11:30 a.m. before he heads downtown to the Rogers Centre to get prepared for the three-day series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Other Friday guests include retired NHL stars Steve Shutt and Pete Stemkowski at 5 p.m., and Simon Gagne and Bernie Nicholls at 6 p.m.
Saturday is the biggest day for autograph collectors. Retired NHL stars Al MacInnis, Jeff O’Neill and Olaf Kolzig appear at 11 a.m. Former Leafs goalie Curtis Joseph appears with NHL legend Teemu Selanne and former Toronto Blue Jays George Bell and Devon White. At 1 p.m., former Jays reliever Duane Ward appears alongside colorful Stanley Cup-winning goalie Billy Smith and former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre. At 2 p.m., former Chicago Bulls champion Dennis Rodman is scheduled to appear with actor Christopher MacDonald, who played Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore. Montreal Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault appears at 3 p.m. alongside Hockey Hall of Famer and women’s hockey legend Jayna Hefford, who won four Olympic gold medals and one silver playing for Canada.
On Sunday, former WWE wrestler and TNA champion Rob Van Dam joins former NHLers Stephane Richer and the Sutter brothers at 11 a.m. At 12 p.m., the autograph guests are former Leafs Felix Potvin and Tomas Kaberle, and actor Thomas Ian Nicholas who played Henry Rowengartner in Rookie of the Year. He also played young Walt Disney in Walt Before Mickey. He was more recently in the American Pie film series and the 2021 film Adverse with Mickey Rourke.
At 1 p.m., William Shatner appears with former NHL player and one-time Pinnacle spokesman Brendan Morrison and CFL/NFL legend Warren Moon. At 2 p.m. former NHLers Phil Myre, Dan Bouchard, Michel Dionne and Dennis Hull appear. The last group of guests is at 3 p.m. with retired NHL stars Doug Favell, Gary Simmons and Dave Ellett.
The presenting sponsor of the show is eBay, while other show partners are Universal Distribution, Grosnor, Ultra Pro, Upper Deck, Heritage Auctions, PSA, COMC, Tag, Mintink, Beckett, Sports Cards Live, JSA Authentication, MNT, KSA, Pather, and Classic Auctions.
“The auction companies get a lot of traffic with collectors visiting their booths with some big items to sell,” Menzie said. “The collector from Saskatchewan who found the case of 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Hockey first connected with Heritage Auctions at the Expo. At the time, he thought he had a case of 1980-81 O-Pee-Chee and not the 1979-80 case that contains the Wayne Gretzky rookie cards.”
The Expo, like the National, has seen growth in the peripheral industries surrounding collecting. Grading and vaulting have become as big, or at time even bigger, than collecting what’s on the show floor.
“One new element this year is that we have a couple of insurance companies set up as exhibitors,” Menzie said. “These are companies that specialize in insuring private sports card and memorabilia collections. It’s something new for the show, but it’s a natural progression.”
As far as the grading companies are concerned, Menzie expects that they will be kept busy with the first wave of Connor Bedard cards on the hockey card market.
“The grading companies see a number of different items in each show, but this will be the first show that they are in Canada when there are Connor Bedard cards out on the market,” he said. “There are the Upper Deck Series 2 Young Guns cards, and there were a lot Bedard cards on the market after National Hockey Card Day. He is also in the new Tim Hortons hockey card set that’s out now, so we will likely see some of those submitted for grading as well.”
Great timing
Historically, there has been more interest in hockey collectibles and in the show when the Toronto Maple Leafs are in the playoffs. The Leafs will be hosting the Boston Bruins in Game 3 Wednesday, April 24, the night before the show. Game 4 will draw a lot of excitement at the show as it takes place Saturday, April 27. It will be the most watched game in Canada that night.
The Toronto Raptors are not in the playoffs this year, but there is a lot of excitement over the Blue Jays, who will be hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend. Toronto FC has also became a major player on the city’s sports scene.
“Toronto is a great sports city,” Menzie said. “Each pro sports team has a big following. But the Leafs are the biggest thing in the city and in the hobby. When they are in the playoffs, the excitement level is huge. That carries into the show.”
Busy schedule
The next month will definitely be exhausting for Menzie and some of his regular show sponsors.
Menzie just wrapped up the Strongsville, Ohio show and then headed right back to Toronto to prepare for the Expo.
Following the Toronto Expo, Menzie and many of the corporate sponsors will be packing up and heading to Edmonton for the Edmonton Sport Card Expo which takes place May 3-5. The Edmonton show only takes place once a year, and it has grown into the largest show in Western Canada.
“Anyone within a 12-hour drive looks upon this as their local show,” Menzie said. “We will have dealers from all 10 Canadian provinces.”
After Edmonton, there is a two-week break before it’s time for the Montreal Expo Cartes Sports, May 24-26.
“It’s kind of like a concert tour,” he said. “We will pack up in Toronto and head straight to Edmonton, and then it’s back east to Montreal. It’s very difficult, but it
S also easier for some of the companies from the United States that can cross the border to get to Toronto and just stay up here until the Montreal show is done before they have to re-enter the United States.”
The Toronto show opens Thursday, April 25 for a preview night from 4-8 p.m.
Show hours Friday are 11-8, while the show runs Saturday from 10-6 and Sunday from 10-5.
Full info is available here.
Related Stories:
Opening a 1979-80 OPC Hockey Box at the National
1 of 2 PSA 10 Gretzky Rookie Cards Expected to Bring Seven-Figure Price
Items from Geddy Lee’s Baseball Memorabilia Collection Headline Upcoming Christies-Hunt Auction
Shop Talk: Bedard Bonanza, Business Kabooming, Donruss Mega Box Attack
Unannounced Bedard Autos Put National Hockey Card Day Over The Top
Rare Quaker Oats Hockey Cards Surface; Toronto Expo Draws a Crowd
Arturs Silovs Rookie Cards Drawing Interest During Unexpected Playoff Run
Notes: 2024 Topps Factory Sets; Olympic Set Goes Chrome; Upper Deck Cards at The Sphere
