Five dollars a head, three days to use it
The Tampa Sports Collectors Expo runs December 4 through December 6, 2026 inside the Special Events Center at the Florida State Fairgrounds. The venue lists daily admission at $5. Children 8 and under enter free, and the promoter's FAQ reads 10 and under.
The event page prints the daily windows. Friday December 4 opens 2:00 p.m. and closes 8:00 p.m. Saturday December 5 runs 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday December 6 runs 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Sunday gives a team five hours on the floor. A group that drives in Saturday and stays one night gets the short day and a daylight drive home.
The show fills the hall with sports cards, memorabilia, trading cards and Pokémon collectibles. The venue page counts hundreds of vendor tables and names guest athletes and personalities as part of the draw.
The hall carries 40,000 square feet
The Special Events Center holds 40,000 square feet under 25-foot ceilings. The venue page lists complimentary wifi throughout the building and utilities accessible through the floor and wall.
A folding acoustical wall splits the space into 15,000 and 24,000 square-foot sections. Confirm the section in use with the promoter before the trip.
Enter at Gate 3 off MLK Jr. Boulevard
The event page names MLK Jr Blvd as the entry point. The venue gate table puts the Special Events Center at the MLK Blvd Entrance, Gate 3. The parking product for the weekend repeats the instruction.
The street address is 4800 U.S. Hwy 301 N, Tampa, FL 33610. The building sits inside the grounds, so the gate decides the drive.
Buy the parking pass online
Parking costs $10 online and $12 onsite. The venue sells the pass on its own parking portal under the product name Sports Corner - December 2026, dated December 4 to December 6.
Each pass covers one entry. The portal prints Good For One Time Entry Only. A vehicle that leaves for lunch and returns needs a second pass. Two cars for ten people means two passes and $20.
Ten people pay $50 at the door for one day. One online parking pass brings the day to $60. The same day costs $62 with a pass bought at the gate.
No room block is published
The Fairgrounds lists seven hotel partners on its trip planning page. Every entry carries a distance figure and no rate, no cut-off date and no booking code.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tampa Fairgrounds Casino sits 0.2 miles out. Wyndham Garden Tampa Fairgrounds/Casino sits 1.5 miles out. Staybridge Suites Tampa East-Brandon sits 2.7 miles out. Hilton Garden Inn Tampa East Brandon sits 2.8 miles out. Courtyard Tampa Brandon sits 4.4 miles out. Cambria Hotel Tampa-Brandon sits 5 miles out, and Hampton Inn & Suites Tampa East sits 5.0 miles out.
Two property descriptions disagree with their own figures. The Hilton Garden Inn copy says less than 2 miles against a 2.8-mile field. The Wyndham Garden copy says one mile against a 1.5-mile field.
A team of ten needs ten rooms for one or two nights. Put the dates and the room count to each property's sales office and ask for a rate and a cut-off date in writing. The venue publishes no block to join, so the property sets its own terms.
Florida sits outside the booking platform
The bookMyTeam seller-of-travel notice, last updated October 21, 2026, states that the platform cannot process hotel booking requests from residents of or for travel to Florida. The notice cites Chapter 559, Florida Statutes, and lists Florida beside Hawaii, Iowa and Washington.
The same page states that visitors from those states are redirected to the notice from all hotelhuddle domains. A Tampa reader who clicks through to the request form lands on that page instead. Send the room enquiry to the property and keep the written quote on file.
The notice carries a compliance contact at compliance@hotelhuddle.com for questions about the restriction.
Camping sits on the grounds
The Fairgrounds runs on-site camping for every event except the annual Florida State Fair. Its reservation form prices a non-fair nightly site at $60.00, paid in full at reservation, on a 30 or 50 amp plug. Reservations need 48 hours of notice. Sleeping tents are prohibited.
Camping removes the room line from the budget for a crew that travels with an RV.
Sunday carries three events
December 6 also runs the gun show in Expo Hall and Showcase of Champions off the Highway 301 entrance. The parking portal sells a single-day pass for each of the three.
Three events use two entry points that Sunday: US Hwy 301 and MLK Jr Blvd. Budget ten extra minutes at the gate and keep one vehicle per team.
