One of the country’s oldest annual sports card shows will add a second event this year.
The Cranston (RI) Sports Card Show, traditionally held the weekend of the Super Bowl, will hold a second two-day event on October 1 and 2.
The fall show will also take place inside the gymnasium at Coventry High School.
“After our February, 2022 show the biggest request by dealer and collector was if we could put on another show than the usual once a year venue so I had to consider it at this point,” said Promoter Mike Mangasarian. “The show is now at 150 tables and we are scheduling 175 tables for the next Super Bowl show which is February 4 & 5, 2023. We will not allow more to keep the balance of admission patrons to always exceed our table holder base. The wait list is long but the contained growth pattern is key to our vendor success and the growth of our show which is consistently steady.”
The show has more than doubled in size since 2019 and Mangasarian hopes to double it again by 2025 once plans are in place to increase capacity. Within the first five hours of last winter’s event, the two-day attendance record was broken and he expects an even bigger crowd this fall.
Having first launched in 1976, the Cranston show is older than the National and one of the top five oldest shows in the country. It’s a fundraiser for two local churches, with young members providing help to dealers who load and unload their inventory.
“The kids from the church are there in sufficient numbers to help everyone with this task and this was a bragged about feature since it was initiated in 2019 by our vendors as I noticed dealers sitting by their tables at the conclusion of the show telling me everything was OK but they were waiting in turn for the kids to come and help them load to go home. They work on tips and keep this money and it is not part of the church charity. The kids do a great job and that is the vendor assessment and not my opinion,” Mangasarian remarked.
An event program offered to each paid admission for free that will list every dealer by the type of material they sell.
Show hours will be 9-5 Saturday and 8:30-3 PM Sunday. There is a $5 admission fee but there are discounts for kids, seniors and veterans. Early entry on Saturday is available for $20.
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