Destination Desert: Exhibitions Still Hot for Vegas
By Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 6/14/2004
Anyone watching the headlines over the last couple years could hardly miss the number of tradeshows moving into and around Las Vegas. But a comprehensive look at these movements reveals more than just a site that's hot: it illustrates the complex dynamics of a city with more than 5 million square feet of public and private exhibition space.
The recent Natl. Hardware Show, held May 10–12, provides a good example. Moving the show from Chicago to Las Vegas was a key element in owner Reed Exhibitions' plans to revitalize it. Reed partnered with the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority and the Sands Expo & Convention Center to market the move, focusing on the destination.
Industry observers held their breath to see whether the new location would pay off. "That was a big mystery — how the (Natl.) Hardware Show was going to be," said Chris Meyer, national director of convention sales for the LVCVA. "And it turned out to be very successful."
So successful, in fact, that the Natl. Hardware Show next year will spill over from the Sands to the larger Las Vegas Convention Center, where it also will collocate with George Little Management's Gourmet Products Show. According to reports in hardware-industry publications, by 2006 the Natl. Hardware Show will move entirely to the LVCC — a surprising development, given Reed's frequent use of the Sands. The company currently holds most of its major Las Vegas expos — the SHOT Show, The JCK Show and Intl. Security Conference Expo/West— at the Sands.
As some shows move to grow, others move because they shrink. MAGIC Intl.'s recent decision to pull its WWDMAGIC out of the Sands and put it with the rest of MAGIC Marketplace at the LVCC coincided with the show dropping from more than 1 million to around 800,000 net square feet.
Last year, the Sands fostered the launch of a toy show called Hobby Visions, which drew 15,200 attendees and occupied 150,000 net sq. ft. The venue also attracted a scrapbook show, Memory Trends, from the Riviera Hotel and Casino, helping the show's owner, Primedia Exhibitions, evolve it from a small trade and public event to an 80,000 sq. ft. tradeshow.
Last month, the mid-Strip convention center, conveniently adjoined to the Venetian hotel, landed the outgrowth of Intl. CES, the United States' largest annual tradeshow for three years running, according to the TSW 200. It has signed the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology — a major show in health care, an industry the city has had trouble breaking into. The Sands is home to the 2004 and 2005 GlobalShop, as the show takes on a Chicago-Las Vegas two-year rotation.
In fact, the tactic of scheduling Las Vegas as a repeat destination in a show's rotation has been more common than moving shows there permanently, according to LVCVA records.
"I think, generally speaking, shows should not always be in the same place," said Jim Bracken, chairman of VNU Expositions, which owns GlobalShop. VNU made an agreement with the Sands to put 14 shows there from 2004 to 2008. "We were able to get a good deal with them and guaranteed dates, so we stay there," said Bracken.
The LVCC, meanwhile, has had more success with associations, signing the Assn. of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers' AWFS Fair for '05, '07 and '09 and the Natl. Spa & Pool Institute's Intl. Pool & Spa Expo for '05. According to Meyer, the LVCC also will be added as a rotating destination for Clean/World Educational Congress for Laundering & Drycleaning, owned by multiple associations.
But when asked to name his recent big "wins," Meyer shows no bias toward the convention-authority-owned LVCC. First out of his mouth: the American Institute of Architects' Natl. Convention & Exposition, the Promotional Products Assn. Intl.'s The PPAI Expo, the American Rental Assn.'s The Rental Show and the Intl. Autobody Congress & Exposition, or NACE— all set to take place at Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
Mandalay Bay has also had success drawing shows that are looking for a change of scenery without leaving town: Natl. Assn. of Television Program Executives, formerly at the Sands, and NetWorld+Interop and the SnowSports Show, both formerly at the LVCC, are examples.
While AIA has signed for '05 and NATPE for '05 and '06, NACE likely will make Las Vegas its home as part of what Meyer called automotive industry week, believed to be the world's largest automotive industry trade gathering. Overlapping with NACE are the automotive aftermarket events SEMA Show, at the LVCC, and AAPEX, at the Sands — both TSW 200 events.
Observers predict this type of massive gathering — with multiple shows coming to town and creating a week of events for people in similar businesses — could become more common as shows and venues increasingly collocate and work together to share traffic.
Sales teams from the three large convention centers are making a joint trip to Atlanta this month. "We've done this in the past to promote Vegas as a place to bring events," Meyer said. "Our line is, 'We'll compete with each other once you've decided to come, but we collectively want you to come.'"
Amid its record of big wins, the city has seen some losses. The California Trucking Assn. is moving its Intl. Trucking Show to Anaheim from Las Vegas starting this year, although the show's former managers will continue to do The Truck Show-Las Vegas at the LVCC. And The Super Show, which spent '01–'03 at the Sands, is heading back to Orlando starting this year.
Then there's the growing corporate meetings market, which all of Las Vegas' venues are working vigorously to grow. Meyer said his most devastating recent loss was the departure of an Exxon Mobile exhibition, which is "going to New Orleans in April of next year, because we couldn't meet their needs."
| Total Convention Space (square feet) | |||
| Facility | Before | After | Completion Date |
| Embassy Suites | * | 6,500 | June 2000 |
| Aladdin Resort & Casino | * | 100,000 | Aug. 2000 |
| Mirage Events Center & Convention Complex | 82,000 | 171,400 | March 2001 |
| Stardust Pavilion and Exhibit Center | * | 40,000 | Nov. 2001 |
| Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa | * | 11,000 | Dec. 2001 |
| Tuscany Suites & Casino | * | 7,500 | Dec. 2001 |
| Las Vegas Convention Center | 1,300,000 | 2,600,000 | Jan. 2002 |
| Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa | 11,000 | 20,000 | Dec. 2002 |
| Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino | 190,000 | 1,690,000 | Jan. 2003 |
| The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas | * | 25,000 | Feb. 2003 |
| MonteLago Village Resort | * | 4,200 | May 2003 |
| Sands Expo/Venetian Resort Hotel Casino | 1,700,000 | 1,800,000 | June 2003 |
| The Westin Casuarina - Las Vegas | * | 15,000 | Nov. 2003 |
| Castaways Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center | * | 35,700 | Jan. 2004 |
| Bellagio | 125,000 | 185,000 | Dec. 2004 |
| Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa | 20,000 | 45,500 | Fourth Qtr. 2004 |
| Marriott Renaissance Hotel | * | 19,600 | Feb. 2005 |
| Wynn Las Vegas | * | 200,000 | April 2005 |
| Rio Pavilion Convention Center & Entertainment Complex | * | 60,000 | Spring 2005 |
| SouthCoast Hotel & Casino | * | 150,000 | Fall 2005 |
| Moulin Rouge Hotel & Casino | * | 127,000 | Dec. 2005 |
| Caesars Palace | 160,000 | 300,000 | 2005 |
| * New construction Source: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority | |||
