Chicago Sports Spectacular Moving Forward with Plans for June Show
The first major sports collectibles show to fall victim to COVID-19 last year, the Chicago Sports Spectacular will return to the schedule in 2021, with its first event now scheduled for Father’s Day weekend.
Show promoters announced Tuesday that it was planning their first 2021 event for June 4-6, with another show in the works for November.
As usual, the three-day event has been booked for the Stephens Convention Center in suburban Rosemont, the same location that is scheduled to host the 2021 National Sports Collectors Convention a few weeks later.
The March 2020 Chicago Sports Spectacular was cancelled the night before it was supposed to open after a declaration from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker that all gatherings of over 1,000 people should be cancelled. With the pandemic beginning to enter North America, 21 autograph guests had cancelled their appearances in the days leading up to the show.
Since then, numerous shows have taken place including a few larger events in Virginia and Texas but no large scale autograph sessions have accompanied them. Many states are experiencing high numbers of COVID cases and continue to limit the size of public gatherings. That could change if widespread distribution of vaccines occurs as planned this spring.
Promoters say they will be working with the convention center “to monitor all the updated health restrictions and guidelines to help bring our customers a safe and enjoyable show experience.”
They plan to return the March show to the calendar in 2022.
