This size of the floor stuff is such BS. Look at the actual show itself--it has gotten smaller every year. There are large swaths of the floor in Chicago and Cleveland that are curtained off and not used. In Chicago you could play a football game in the space between the booths and the autograph area.
The reality is as it always has been: the owners of the show want a space that costs nothing or next to it, has minimal hotel guarantees, and is willing to book years in advance. No first-rate convention center will do this, so we end up in a former tank factory (Cleveland), a difficult to access run-down beach flop (Atlantic City), and a suburban facility next to an airport (Rosemont). And don't misunderstand me, if they decreed tomorrow that we go to Rosemont every year I would be great with that. At least it is an easy flight for me. But to call it a "National" while having it in only a handful of areas that are all in the northeast quadrant of the lower 48 is just silly.
Could be way worse though:
