Outdoor Retailer Ponders a New Summer Home

Salt Lake City struggles to keep up with growth of its biggest show

By Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 5/31/2004

In mid-May, Outdoor Retailer began asking exhibitors what they thought of their summer home. Show organizers say it's a crucial step in a process that might lead to the Aug. 12-15 show being the last Outdoor Retailer Summer Market at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City.

"We're venue-bound," said Peter Devin, group show director for Outdoor Retailer, the division of VNU Expositions that runs the Outdoor Retailer Summer and Winter Markets in conjunction with the Outdoor Industry Assn. Last summer's Aug. 14-17 edition of the Tradeshow Week 200 event spanned 322,995 net square feet and drew 892 exhibitors and 6,996 professional attendees, according to VNU. The Salt Palace has 365,000 sq. ft. of prime exhibit space.

Devin said his team has had to tighten up aisles and expand the exhibition into hallways, ballrooms and meeting rooms to accommodate as much growth as possible. Demand exceeds available space, and there's nowhere left to put the growing number of wait-listed companies.

Michael Hodgson, co-publisher and editor of SNEWS, a trade publication for the outdoor industry, believes the possible move is motivated simply by the need to grow. "Salt Lake City can't house the show anymore," he said. "It just isn't big enough."

Although the current location is ideal for the recreation enthusiasts that populate the show, OR and the OIA are now considering Denver, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Orlando as possible destinations for 2005 and beyond. Besides space and an environment that allows for outdoor demonstrations of recreational equipment, infrastructure is also important. Devin said the show draws participants from all 50 U.S. states as well as 35 countries, so an easily accessible airport is key.

Hodgson said Las Vegas, with its abundant space and affordable hotel rooms, seems the obvious choice in terms of tradeshow infrastructure and user-friendliness. But the outdoor industry may shy away from the city that has been more apt at selling itself as a destination for indoor recreation. "The casino culture makes it difficult for people to see Red Rock, Lake Powell, Black Canyon," and other recreational spots as close as 20 minutes from Las Vegas, he said.

Denver has "more of an outdoor feel," according to Hodgson, but is more expensive and inconvenient from a transportation standpoint. The recently expanded Colorado Convention Center now touts 584,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space.

Meanwhile, the Utah venue has not given up on the show. Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau officials have assured OR that, in time for the 2005 show, they will build a plaza adjacent to the Salt Palace exhibit hall to hold overflow booths, and by 2006 they will finish a permanent addition with 175,000 to 200,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space.

"Outdoor Retailer is really important to this community," SLCVB spokesman Jason Mathis said. "I don't know that other places they're looking at would have the same level of commitment. For Vegas it's not that big of a deal; it would be just another show."

According to Mathis, direct spending by visitors in town for the show amounts to $32 million, and actual economic impact is probably 2.5 times that. He said the city, county, state and private businesses are working vigorously to secure the financing for both projects.

Devin confirmed that Salt Lake is not off the list just yet. OR and the OIA will consider Salt Lake City's official proposal, to be submitted in June, just a month or two before their own decision is expected.

The determining factor, Devin said, will be feedback from a massive survey effort being administered by Boulder Sports Research, an independent research firm. Launched in mid-May, the survey is asking some 6,000 manufacturers and retailers what date and location would best serve their needs.

Devin acknowledged the difficulty that always comes with a major change in a show's dates and location. His decision on the Summer Market will be further complicated by the ensuing question of what to do with the Winter Market. OR reported no plans to move that 244,409 net sq. ft. show out of Salt Lake City, but as Hodgson pointed out, companies that exhibit in both the Summer and Winter Markets would incur additional storage and shipping costs if the two were in separate locations.