New York Comic-Con is one of the biggest conventions in the United States and the biggest on the east coast, and this year Con attendees will be treated to an extra day, as the Con expands to four days this October.

For 2011, the event will be running Thursday to Sunday, with the first day serving as a preview night, much like the Wednesday night at San Diego Comic-Con. This will accommodate more attendees, as well as more programming for artists, retailers, and exhibitors, as the Con opens to the public for the first time for three full days. This also means more hours for the Cultyard and New York Anime Festival, which was a major draw for cosplayers at the convention center in 2010.

This is a big move considering how young NYCC is, but it shows the growth of the convention since its inception in 2006. The 2011 NYCC will be held from Thursday October 13, 2011 through Sunday, October 16, 2011 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City.

Academic programming will begin at 12 noon on Thursday, October 13, 2011, with the convention floor officially opening for professional hours and a new fan preview night on Thursday from 4pm – 7pm.

A limited number of non-professional attendees can gain access to the preview night if they purchase the new, limited quantity, full 4-day pass to NYCC, which is limited to 10,000 passes. These tickets will go on sale on February 7 at 12 noon EST, along with 3-day passes for Friday – Sunday, and single-day passes for Friday – Sunday. No Thursday-only passes will be sold. Tickets for NYCC will be sold via www.nycomiccon.com.

[Source: CBR]