The Tampa Sports Collectors Expo takes the Special Events Center at the Florida State Fairgrounds for three days in December. Friday runs 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A collector who works all three days has a room cost to settle. Three nights in Tampa covers the weekend. A day room covers the hours between sessions.
The venue publishes the show hours and the building specification. The Fairgrounds publishes seven hotel partners with distances and no rate. The day-use shelf carries 14 priced Tampa cards on 21 October, and no card for the property across the street.
Eighteen show hours over three days
Saturday carries seven hours. Sunday carries five. Friday opens at 2 p.m. and closes at 8 p.m.
Admission is $5 a day and children 8 and under enter free. Parking costs $10 online and $12 onsite. The parking portal sells the show as Sports Corner, December 2026, dated Dec. 4 to 6, with one time entry through MLK Blvd.
Fourteen priced day cards
The dayuse.com Tampa page carries 14 cards, priced from $60 to $175 before booking fees. Two name the Fairgrounds in the card title: Clarion Pointe Tampa-Brandon Near Fairgrounds and Casino, and Quality Inn & Suites Tampa near Fairgrounds and Casino.
Clarion Pointe shows $65 before fees and $71 after, against a $96 nightly rate on the same card. Its windows run 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Quality Inn & Suites reads $65 and $71, against $88 nightly. It carries three windows: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Quality Inn and Conference Center Tampa-Brandon reads $60 and $66, against $87 nightly. Its windows are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The other 11 cards carry Downtown, Westshore, Southeast Tampa, Beach Park, Tampa and St. Pete Beach labels. Three sit in Downtown: Aloft Tampa Downtown at $109 and $116, Le Méridien Tampa at $129 and $138, and Hotel Flor Tampa Downtown at $139 and $148. The top of the shelf is Island Grand and RumFish Beach at TradeWinds in St. Pete Beach, both at $175 and $185. The page publishes no average day rate.
Which window covers which show hour
Saturday runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The 10-to-5 window covers six of the seven hours. The 8-to-2 window ends two hours before the close. The 2-to-7 window covers the last two hours of the show and three hours after it.
Sunday runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The 10-to-4 window covers all five hours. The 8-to-2 window covers four.
Friday runs 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The 2-to-7 window covers five of the six hours.
What the building gives a working collector
The Special Events Center page lists 40,000 square feet of customizable space, 25-foot ceilings, complimentary wifi throughout the building and utilities accessible through the floor and wall. A folding acoustical wall divides the space into 15,000 and 24,000 square-foot sections.
A collector who needs a closed door for a call books the 10-to-5 window, which ends an hour after the Saturday close.
The gate and the parking pass
The event page reads MLK JR BLVD under Where to Enter. The venue gate roster reads Special Events Center, MLK Blvd Entrance, Gate 3. The parking product repeats the direction.
Each pass covers one entry, so three show days mean three passes: $30 in advance against $36 at the gate.
The day room against the night
On the Clarion Pointe card, $71 all in sits $25 below the card's $96 nightly rate. On the Quality Inn & Suites card the same $71 sits $17 below $88. Two day rooms, Saturday and Sunday, cost $142 against $176 on the second card.
The Sunday room opens at 8 a.m. for a 10 a.m. floor.
hotelslots.org lists 103,857+ hotels across 46 states and states that day rates run 30 to 75 percent below the nightly rate. The platform charges no booking fee. Its seller-of-travel page lists Florida, Hawaii, Iowa and Washington as states it cannot process booking requests from or to, and the state index on its directory page lists 46 states without Florida.
