Fanatics Collect Orlando has been postponed until early 2025, Fanatics confirmed to cllct Tuesday.
Originally scheduled for Nov. 1-3 in Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center, the event has been delayed due to damage across Florida from Hurricane Helene in late September and Hurricane Milton earlier this month.
“As you are aware, the Florida region has suffered two devastating hurricanes over the course of only a few weeks, and thousands of people are still dealing with the effects of the storms,” Fanatics Events CEO Lance Fensterman said in a statement.
“We have been in ongoing conversations with members of the collector community and together, we have decided that it’s in the best interest of the community — and out of respect for this community and the people of Florida — to postpone Fanatics Collect Orlando until early next year."
Fanatics Collect Orlando expected to host more than 700 trading card dealers as well as a number of autograph signers, including Johnny Bench, Tracy McGrady, Wade Boggs, Ricky Williams, Daunte Culpepper, Charles Woodson and Brian Dawkins.
According to Fensterman, the Fanatics Events team will use the schedule change to reimagine the show and improve the experience.
“We will be using the additional time to craft an even more awesome and elevated card show experience for the collecting community in Florida and can’t wait to launch,” Fensterman added. “We are working to secure the venue and dates that work best for both us and the community and once we have those secured, we will share an update.”
The postponement of Fanatics Collect Orlando is the second show originally promoted by Fanatics Events to be moved, with a show at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park rescheduled to an undisclosed future date.
“After the success of Fanatics Fest NYC, and in conversation with the Pirates, we simply didn’t feel we had enough time to build the event that fans deserve — and there is no rush,” Fensterman said in a statement to cllct in August. “We are excited to build on venue-based collector events at iconic ballparks like PNC and others, and will when the time is right for our events business, our team partners and fans.”
Of the three flagship shows originally promoted by Fanatics Events for collectors, only August’s Fanatics Fest NYC was held on its originally scheduled date. Along with hosting New York City’s largest card show to date, Fanatics Fest NYC featured a number of activities aimed at the regular sports fan.
Fensterman, who is best known as an architect behind New York City Comic Con, said the goal of Fanatics Fest NYC and similar flagship shows was to create the Comic Con for sports fans.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct.