·
A systems engineer with U.S. Navy support contractor Sea Corp, Peter Bria works from the firm’s offices in Middletown, Rhode Island. In his free time, Peter Bria enjoys collecting coins and sports memorabilia, and is a regular attendee at the National Sports Collectors Convention.
The largest show in the country dedicated to sports memorabilia, the National Sports Collectors Convention began in 1980 when a few sports card collectors gathered in the lobby of a Los Angeles hotel to compare their collections. Today, the mega-event attracts thousands of sports collectors and dealers, and features autograph guests that in 2019 included World Series champion Ryan Klesko and Super Bowl champion Drew Pearson.
Held in a different city each year, the show has a tremendous economic impact on its host city. In 2012, for example, the Baltimore Business Journal estimated that the event had an economic impact in excess of $15 million, nearly four times that of any other convention held in Baltimore in 2010. The 2020 convention will take place at the Atlantic City Convention Center in New Jersey.