It’s silly to think that the place where Devin Hester ran a kickoff return in for a touchdown is going to be the site of hundreds of antiques and knick-knacks in one of the biggest rummage sales the city has ever seen. Instead of a team of football players, it’ll be an army of antique collectors.

The first-ever Big Swap Bonanza, the self-proclaimed biggest yard sale in Chicago, is coming to Soldier Field, 425 E. McFetridge Drive, on May 2. There are expected to be between 200 and 300 vendors at the event.

Frank Fontana of HGTV’s “Design on a Dime” will be the host and “style guru” of the event.  He’ll give autographs and offer design tips.

Sally Schwartz, who produced the Randolph Street Market Festival, is the founder of the event. She said this type of event hits close to her personal interests.

“I’m a big flea marketer myself, and a big collector, and I think there’s just a huge need for a place where people can just bring their stuff and resell their stuff,” Schwartz said. “It’s perfect for college kids.”

In fact, her daughter is ready to get rid of some old American Girl dolls.

“We’ve been putting stuff aside for [my 12-year-old daughter] to sell,” she said. “Kids accumulate so much stuff, and they don’t want it anymore after a year.”

In addition to supporting locals who are just trying to get rid of some of their old possessions, the Big Swap Bonanza also intends to help the less fortunate. The event will host a “Celebrity Sellathon,” in which they will auction off some celebrities’ old things to benefit Chicago’s Bottomless Closet charity, including items from local news anchors and Frankie Avalon. Bottomless Closet provides clothing and post-employment training to women in need of assistance.

Mike Mitchell, who has participated as a vendor for Schwartz’s Randolph Street Market, will be selling used bicycles at the event. He said although he has been trying to avoid accumulating even more stuff, this type of event has a natural sort of appeal to him, thanks to his history of collecting old toy Tonka trucks from the ’50s.

“I’ve been a collector for many years,” Mitchell said. “If I did have a few minutes down there at the bonanza, and it was kind of slow and I could walk around, and I saw on somebody’s table a really nice 1955 Tonka dump truck, I might buy it.”

Since one of the general themes of the event is regular people getting rid of their personal belongings, Schwartz wants to encourage non-vendors to get rid of their outdated and obsolete electronics. The event will host on-site recycling for computer- and phone-based electronics.

Some of the people behind the event, such as publicist Julie Rusin, actually aren’t fans of seeking out garage sales. The bonanza, however, offers a great alternative.

“I grew up going to garage sales with my mom. Normally, I wouldn’t just on a Saturday go to a garage sale, because it’s just not worth it. You drive up and there are two tables,” Rusin said. “Something like this definitely is something that I’m excited for. It’s a giant yard sale, so your chances of finding something that you love are great.”

Admission for the event is $3, kids 12 and under get in free. Gates are open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information about the Big Swap Bonanza, visit BigSwapBonanza.com.