BotCon A Brief History

To reach BotCon someday is probably on the minds of every TF fanatic no matter where you look in the fandom. Yet the experience of a TF fan's life might not be obtainable due to cost, location, other things which hold them down in their lives or just plain and simple you're not allowed to go. Those kinds of things may make you think twice about BotCon, but with the records of how successful this event is for the TF Universe, how wrong you'd be! I found the history of BotCon to be interesting and quite revealing as to how something so small started to evolve into an ever growing craze. Taken and shortened from the original site, http://www.botcon.com, are the simple reviews of every year since it first began back in 1994 in Ft Wayne.

BotCon '94


Facts in Brief

Date: July 16, 1994
Location: Grand Wayne Center
City: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Preregistrants: 126
Total Attendance: 175 (Approx.)
Organizers: Jon and Karl Hartman
Hasbro Reps: Tom Bowman and Carl Fritz
Other Guests: None
Special Events: None
Exclusive Toy: G2 Breakdown
Quantity Produced: 300 Total; 204 for BotCon

BotCon '95


Facts in Brief

Dates: August 5-6, 1995
Location: Dayton Convention Center
City: Dayton, Ohio
Preregistrants: 213
Total Attendance: 275 (Approx.)
Organizer: Raksha
Hasbro Reps: None
Other Guests: None
Special Events: Laser light show to soundtrack from movie
Exclusive Toy: Nightracer
Quantity Produced: 294

BotCon '96


Facts in Brief

Dates: July 12-14, 1996
Location: Radisson Hotel (formerly Clarion Resort Rosemont)
City: Rosemont, Illinois
Preregistrants: Unknown
Total Attendance: 400 (Approx.)
Organizers: Men in Black Collectables
Hasbro Reps: George Boznos and Anthony Gaud
Other Guests: None
Special Events: Charity auction
Exclusive Toy: Onyx Primal
Quantity Produced: 1700 Total; 1490 Regular, 170 Dealer, 40 VIP

BotCon '97


Facts in Brief

Dates: July 18-20, 1997
Location: Rochester Riverside Convention Center
City: Rochester, New York
Preregistrants: 389
Total Attendance: 740 (Approx.)
Organizers: 3H Enterprises
Hasbro Reps: Dawn Berryman, George Boznos, and Jerry Palmer
Other Guests: Stan Bush, Peter Cullen, Vince DiCola, Bob Forward, Simon Furman, David Kaye, Venus Terzo, and Andrew Wildman
Special Events: Pre-convention dinner, live concert, charity auction
Exclusive Toys: Packrat and Fractyl
Quantity Produced: 600 Packrat, 570 Fractyl

BotCon '98


Facts in Brief
Dates: June 19-21, 1998
Location: Anaheim Convention Center
City: Anaheim, California
Preregistrants: 472
Total Attendance: 850 (Approx.)
Organizers: 3H Enterprises
Hasbro Reps: Andy Espenshade and Jennifer Donahoe
Other Guests: Susan Blu, Gary Chalk, Vince DiCola, Larry DiTillio, Bob Forward, Simon Furman, David Kaye, Bryce Malek, Scott McNeil, Doug Parker, Rob Tokar, and Andrew Wildman
Special Events: Pre-convention party, live script reading, charity raffle
Exclusive Toys: Vice Grip and Antagony
Quantity Produced: 600 Vice Grip, 600 Antagony

BotCon '99


Facts in Brief
Dates: July 16-18, 1999
Location: Touchstome Energy Place (formerly RiverCentre)
City: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Preregistrants: 728
Total Attendance: 1104 (Approx.)
Organizers: 3H Enterprises
Hasbro Rep: Brian Chapman
Other Guests: Jim Byrnes, Asaph Fipke, and Scott McNeil
Special Events: Pre-convention pizza party
Exclusive Toys: Windrazor and Sandstorm
Quantity Produced: 1200 Windrazor, 1200 Sandstorm
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