SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Primetime Saturday Night, an event for sports card enthusiasts to trade and discuss cards, will be held at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame from 6 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1

Beginning at 7 p.m., guests can take center court for a free "Trade Show" to trade cards, discuss their hobby, play big-screen games and more. The event is part of the New England Card Show's 2022 Fall Classic, which will run throughout the weekend from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the nearby MassMutual Center. 

"Bring your grandparents all the way to your kids. It's a great family event," said John DeMorais, organizer of the New England Card Show. 

The night will open with a "Hobby Talk" panel hosted by Rob Girard, sports card therapist, from 6 to 7 p.m., where guests from Santiago Sports, Breakout Cards, and Murph's Card town will discuss the hobby. Admission to the panel, which will be in the hall of fame's theater, is $20. 

"[Springfield is] becoming a good place to do a show because it's a walking city," he said, noting the main show at the MassMutual Center is within walking distance of Primetime Saturday Night. "It has so much stuff we can walk to versus going to these larger cities in Boston in Atlantic City works. Traditional bigger shows are are run."

Morais said both the New England Card Show and the Primetime Card Show, which he operates in New Britain, Conn., have seen significant growth in recent years. He said the number of tables at the Springfield show has doubled, and the event generally sells out. 

"I've gone to 300 tables, two-day event, in a matter of about 16 months," he said. "... I know how to manage, that's my strength. I know how to manage and coordinate and schedule stuff. So I took that experience and said, 'let's apply it to card shows.' And I went to every major card show, took notes, met people, got business cards." 

The COVID-19 pandemic, according to DeMorais, pushed many sports fans to get into cards. In addition to boosting the popularity of sports cards, he said the pandemic also increased interest in other collectible cards. 

"What happened is the only way they really can get their sports fix during COVID was to get caught up in this craze about cards," he said. "You can trade cards with COVID. You can trade cards on eBay. You can trade cards on Instagram or Twitch. And it started becoming the social bubble that started to bubble up, and it was like replacing going through a game."

More information on Primetime Saturday Night, as well as the main event, can be found at primetimecardshow.com/calendar-of-events

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