S.F. Labor Day Show Finished for Good?
TriStar Productions on Friday announced it would not promote the annual San Francisco Labor Day collectibles show in 2008. TriStar will promote the annual February show at the Cow Palace near SFO airport.
Is the downtown show dead for good?
Since the mid-1980s, there has been a regional show on Labor Day weekend in San Francisco. Bob Rose was one of the earliest promoters to recognize that dealers from around the country saw a four-day weekend in San Fran as more of a vacation opportunity than a show grind. Bong Tongol picked up the slack after Rose, then TriStar jumped in and brought the show to the Concourse Center at 8th and Brannan streets, where collectors and dealers did biz for about a decade every Labor Day weekend.
One of the hottest — and I do mean HOTTEST — shows on record happened at the Concourse Center Labor Day 2004. The un-airconditioned building was subject to unseasonable, record 90-plus temperatures for four days. The record highs were up to 20 degrees above normal for that weekend. Dealers baked. BGS booth employees scrapped the corporate uniform for T-shirts. However, the unflappable Steve Garvey sat upstairs in what had to be attic-like 100-degree heat wearing a dress shirt and a tie, signing away for autograph seekers.
Will some local promotor attempt to revive the weekend show? Is it even viable anymore?
Any of you guys out there in attendance at the 2004 broiler? What about the inferno-like temps at the Cleveland “soccer field show” from June 2003? – ph
Tags: Beckett, Sports Cards, BGS, San Francisco, TriStar, sports collectibles, Concourse Center San Francisco
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May 12, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Why did you have to bring back the terrible memories from the Cleveland soccer fields?
May 12, 2008 at 9:55 pm
I lived in NorCal during the late 80s and early 90s and the SF show was always a hotbed. Not a lot of room to walk around because there were usually so many dealers packed into the place. Of course, there were a number of shows like that back then, but on the west coast, the Concourse Center event was one not to be missed. Why I bought $40 worth of Mother’s Cookies sets instead of more T206s ($3-5 for a common) is a question I’d prefer not to answer.
May 16, 2008 at 1:38 pm
I was at that show in 2004 and it was ridiculous!
Having been to the show several times over the past ten years, it has seen a steady decline in attendance, and this is probably the right thing to do!
May 31, 2008 at 4:10 pm
I have seen a decline in attendance at almost every show I have attended or set up in the past few years in Cincinnati Ohio. Nobody wants to trade or sell to dealers anymore. I think they would just rather sell their stuff on Ebay than deal with a bunch of old guys trying to rip a kid off.