Three days at the Special Events Center
The Tampa Sports Collectors Expo runs December 4 to 6, 2026 in the Special Events Center at the Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S. Hwy 301 N, Tampa. Friday runs 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The venue directs this show to the Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd entrance at Gate 3. The hall carries 40,000 square feet of customizable space under 25-foot ceilings, and the organiser counts 250 or more dealer tables.
The gate is a five dollar line
Admission runs $5 per person per day and each day carries its own fee. A ticket bought online carries a 4 percent processing fee, which puts one advance day at $5.20. The organiser encourages cash at the door and accepts Venmo.
The pages disagree on the child age. The venue event page reads children 8 and under free. The organiser FAQ reads children 10 and under free with a paying adult, and the organiser About page reads 8 and under. A household with a nine year old should budget the $5.
Parking sells as one entry
The venue event page prints parking at $10 online and $12 onsite. The parking shop lists a Sports Corner December product for December 4 to 6 at $10.00, entering through MLK Blvd.
Two terms carry the weight. Each ticket is good for one parking entry, and parking does not include event entry. The organiser FAQ adds that a guest who leaves the fairgrounds completely may be charged an additional parking fee on return.
Three show days build to three parking entries for anyone who drives in each morning. Three advance tickets cost $30. Three gate tickets cost $36.
Seven partners publish distance and no rate
The fairgrounds Trip Planning page lists seven hotel partners. Each carries a published distance field. None carries a nightly rate, a group code, a block or a cut-off date, and the partner block holds no dollar figure.
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Tampa Fairgrounds Casino sits at 0.2 miles and is described as directly across the street from the Florida State Fairgrounds. Wyndham Garden Tampa Fairgrounds/Casino sits at 1.5 miles. Staybridge Suites Tampa-Brandon sits at 2.7 miles. Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-East/Brandon sits at 2.8 miles. Courtyard Tampa-Brandon sits at 4.4 miles. Cambria Hotel Tampa-Brandon sits at 5 miles. Hampton Inn and Suites Tampa East sits at 5.0 miles.
0.2 miles removes the parking line
The Holiday Inn Express is the one partner a guest reaches on foot. A three day attendee who walks in from across the street buys no parking ticket, which holds $30 in advance or $36 at the gate.
That figure is the first number to carry into a rate conversation with the property, and the same number to carry to the other six.
The 1.5 mile property publishes free parking
Wyndham Garden opened in 2025. The description lists free Wi-Fi and parking, an outdoor heated pool, a 24 hour fitness center, and pet friendly non smoking rooms.
The distance field prints 1.5 miles and the same description reads just one mile from the fairgrounds. Quote the field and ask for the drive time.
Free parking at 1.5 miles covers the same parking cost as the walk from 0.2 miles. Two properties open the conversation at the same net figure before either quotes a room, and that is the point where the ask starts.
The 2.7 mile suite carries a kitchen
Staybridge Suites Tampa-Brandon lists apartment style suites with full kitchens, free laundry, a 24 hour convenience store and pet friendly rooms. A dealer carrying inventory, or a family of four working three days, prices that suite against a standard room at the closer properties.
The 2.8 mile Hilton Garden Inn sits beside a description reading less than 2 miles from the fairgrounds. Both figures are printed on the same page. Ask for the drive time in writing and keep the field value in the comparison.
Friday arrival sets the night count
A 2 p.m. Friday gate asks for a Thursday arrival from anyone outside the Tampa area, which is three nights. A Friday morning arrival covers the same gate in two nights, Friday and Saturday.
Sunday closes at 3 p.m. A 3 p.m. checkout, or a luggage hold, keeps the room usable through the Sunday floor. Request both in the first message.
Florida sits outside the platform service area
hotelhaggle states its restriction on the seller of travel page, last updated October 21, 2026. The company cannot process hotel booking requests from residents of or for travel to Florida, Hawaii, Iowa and Washington. Florida carries the status line Not currently registered as a Florida Seller of Travel, and the restriction applies across every hotelhuddle property.
For this Tampa weekend the request goes to the property directly. The published numbers travel with it.
What to put in writing
Nightly rate for December 4, 5 and 6, priced by night. Total with taxes and fees. Parking treatment, either a space inside the rate or the $10 advance and $12 gate figure at the venue. Checkout time after the Sunday 3 p.m. close. Child age at the door. Cancellation date and the penalty after it. Distance stated as drive minutes.
