A convention reportedly said to feature "the largest collection of sneakers in the world" is set to kick off in Cleveland, Ohio next weekend.
Sneaker Con, a large gathering of so-called "sneakerheads" hoping to browse, buy and sell pairs of collector shoes, will take place at Cleveland's Huntington Convention Center on Saturday. The event is touted as a hub for the world's largest collection of collectable athletic shoes, including many rare pairs, according to Cleveland.Com.
It is unclear exactly how many pairs of shoes will be featured at the convention but they are likely to exceed the 2,388 pairs that Guinness World Records counted as belonging to the individual world's largest sneaker collection record holder Jordan Gellar in 2012. Although three sisters were later said to be applying for the new record after amassing over 6,000 pairs, Gellar remained the official record holder as of Monday.
The world of collectable sneakers has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, with sought-after second hand pairs often fetching hundreds or thousands of dollars from collectors. Although a pair of Nike sneakers worn during the rookie season of NBA basketball icon Michael Jordan sold for nearly $1.5 million during an auction in October, the sale price fell short of the record for the most expensive sale.
The record for the priciest sneaker sale was instead achieved in April, when Kanye West's Nike Air Yeezy Grammy Prototype sneakers, which he had worn during a performance at the 2008 Grammy Awards ceremony, sold for $1.8 million in a private sale.
The lucrative nature of the booming sneaker collection market has also attracted a host of unscrupulous dealers in counterfeit sneakers, prompting Sneaker Con to introduce an authenticity program that uses NFC technology to digitally mark authentic pairs. Last month, eBay acquired Sneaker Con's authentication business.
Sneaker Con was established by a group of New York-based sneaker enthusiasts in 2009, going on to host over 1 million convention attendees in more than 40 cities around the world. The events side of the business will continue independently of eBay.
Actor Jeff Goldblum investigated the increasingly popular sneaker collecting phenomena while visiting a previous edition of Sneaker Con during the first episode of his Disney+ series The World According to Jeff Goldblum in 2019.
Although the upcoming Cleveland Sneaker Con has not yet taken place, a further edition of the event is scheduled to take place next month in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. In addition to U.S.-based conventions, previous iterations of the event have been held in countries including Canada, Australia and China.
Tickets for the single-day Cleveland convention, which features prizes, "exclusive steals & deals" and an "eBay Authentication Guarantee booth," are available online for $25.
Newsweek reached out to Sneaker Con for comment.
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Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
