The Indy Sports Card Show closes out the year at the La Quinta Inn on Victory Drive on Saturday, December 5, 2026 — the last south-side hotel show before the holidays and one of the busiest editions on its calendar. December brings a distinctive crowd to hotel shows: gift shoppers who do not normally attend, collectors cashing out inventory before year-end, and dealers who would rather sell a stack cheap than carry it into January. The negotiating dynamic tilts toward buyers in a way it does not the rest of the year.
The dealer floor covers sports broadly. Baseball tables carry Topps and Bowman from the 1950s forward plus Fleer, Donruss and Score, with strong Reds, Cubs and Cardinals inventory reflecting south-central Indiana fandom, complete sets and organized commons for set builders. Football is at peak seasonal demand — Colts material, the current rookie class, vintage NFL and college product from Notre Dame, Purdue and Indiana University. Basketball builds around the Pacers and the NBA season in progress. Hockey, soccer, UFC, boxing, racing and Indy 500 memorabilia fill out the rest. Modern releases span Panini Prizm, Donruss Optic, Select, Mosaic, Topps Chrome and Bowman Chrome, with National Treasures, Flawless and Immaculate under glass. Graded slabs from PSA, BGS, SGC and CGC occupy multiple locked cases. A few tables carry Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh! singles — useful for gift shopping — and the outer tables run dime, quarter and dollar boxes that make it easy to put together an inexpensive present for a young collector.
Hours are 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM Eastern. Admission is free or a nominal few dollars at the door, and hotel parking is free directly outside the ballroom entrance. Kids attend free.
The La Quinta Inn is at 5120 Victory Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46203, immediately off I-65 at the Emerson Avenue interchange on the southeast side. It is the easiest metro show to reach from Greenwood, Beech Grove, Franklin, Southport, Shelbyville and Columbus, and under fifteen minutes from downtown. The ballroom is heated, the walk from car to table is about thirty seconds — a real consideration in December — and there is a dense restaurant cluster within a half mile.
The format rewards thorough collectors. Set builders and vintage hunters get the most value because everything is within reach and dealers have time to talk. Modern collectors and breakers use it to restock and clear case-break leftovers. Gift shoppers do unusually well in December; ask a dealer to assemble a starter lot for a kid and most will build something good for twenty or thirty dollars.
Go early. Hotel shows front-load inventory and the eight o'clock crowd sees material that is gone by ten — doubly true in December. Bring cash in small bills, since cash negotiation is the norm and many dealers still do not take cards. Carry a want list organized by sport and player, penny sleeves, top loaders and a box. Walk the room once before buying, then negotiate stacks rather than singles. Save your last thirty minutes for a second pass — December is the month dealers discount hardest rather than pack inventory home. Check cardshows.io nearer the date for confirmed hours.