Card Show by the Bay bills itself as Tampa Bay's largest sports card show, and the September edition backs that up with more than 100 dealer tables filling the ballroom at the Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Park, 950 Lake Carillon Drive, St. Petersburg, FL 33716. The show runs Saturday, September 5 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Sunday, September 6 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Admission is $2 and kids get in free — a price point that has stayed unchanged for years and is a big part of why this show draws the crowds it does on Labor Day weekend.
The dealer base is genuinely statewide. Sellers come in from Miami, Jacksonville, Orlando, Naples, and the Panhandle, which means the inventory turns over meaningfully between editions rather than being the same tables every month. Sports cards are the anchor: baseball, football, basketball, and hockey across vintage, junk-wax, and modern, with strong representation of graded slabs, rookie cards, star and Hall of Fame singles, autographs, and relic cards. Beyond the sports side you will find non-sports cards, a healthy Pokemon presence, comics, and sports memorabilia — signed balls, jerseys, helmets, photos, and pennants. Buying, selling, and trading all happen freely on the floor, and a good number of dealers here actively buy collections, so this is a reasonable place to bring cards you are looking to move rather than just cards you want to add.
The Carillon Park venue is one of the more comfortable rooms on the local circuit. It sits just off SR 688 (Ulmerton Road) in the Carillon business district, roughly equidistant from Tampa and downtown St. Pete, with easy access from I-275. Parking is on site and plentiful. The ballroom is climate controlled with wide aisles, and the hotel's restaurant and restrooms are right there, which makes a full-day visit workable rather than an endurance test.
Saturday morning is when the room is fullest and the best raw material moves first, so arrive near the 10:00 AM open if you are hunting rather than browsing. Sunday's earlier 9:00 AM start and shorter day tend to be quieter, and some dealers will negotiate more readily late Sunday as they think about packing out — if your priority is price rather than selection, that final couple of hours is the window.
Bring cash. Many dealers take digital payment now, but cash still moves negotiations at a show like this, and small bills make dollar-box digging much faster. Bring a written want list with set numbers and card numbers, not just player names, because you will not remember what you need standing in front of a 5,000-count box. Bring sleeves and toploaders for anything you buy raw. If you are selling, sort and price your material before you arrive and be realistic — dealers here buy every weekend and know the market cold.
For families, the free kids admission makes this an easy introduction to the hobby, and the vintage tables in particular tend to draw parents and grandparents into conversations about the cards they had growing up. For questions on tables or general show information, contact the organizers by email at [email protected] or call or text 813-390-3687.
