Salt Lake Retains The Great Outdoors
Outdoor Retailer shows to stay in Utah five more years pending expansion
By Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 8/23/2004
Outdoor Retailer, a division of VNU Expositions, has ended months of speculation about the future location of its namesake show by announcing it will stay in Salt Lake City until at least 2009 — provided the city comes through with financing to expand the Salt Palace Convention Center.
Citing a market study's results, its sponsor's recommendation and the city's promise to add 40 percent more exhibit space to Salt Palace, Outdoor Retailer announced Aug. 11 that it had contracted with the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau to keep both the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market and Winter Market there through 2009.
The semiannual show has been in Salt Lake City continuously since 1996 (and sporadically before that). Reflecting the vitality of the outdoor recreation industry and strong backing by the Outdoor Industry Assn., the show has grown steadily over the last several years. The 2003 Summer Market rose six spots in the Tradeshow Week 200 to No. 54, coming in at 322,995 net square feet, 892 exhibiting companies and 6,996 professional attendees — all increases over 2002. The smaller Winter Market was No. 95, with 244,409 net sq. ft., 652 exhibitors and 5,561 attendees. The recently completed 2004 Summer Market attracted 876 exhibitors and 5,792 buyers.
Outdoor Retailer is not a million-square-foot mammoth the likes of Intl. CES; the problem is more the size of the venue. Considering that the square footage of an exhibition typically represents just 65 percent of a tradeshow's total space needs, it's easy to see that Salt Palace, with its 365,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, could no longer handle Outdoor Retailer.
Anxious to keep growing, and weary of spreading exhibitors among tents, ballrooms, meeting rooms and any other space they could scrounge, show organizers began looking elsewhere. Specifically, they said they were considering Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Reno and San Diego.
Observers believed Denver and Las Vegas posed the biggest threats to Salt Lake City: the Colorado Convention Center for its soon-to-open expansion and recreation-friendly atmosphere; Las Vegas for its abundance of space, good show service and varied hotel rates. In addition, VNU currently produces several shows in Las Vegas, the outdoorsy Interbike among them.
But, true to its reputation for cooperation with the OIA, Outdoor Retailer decided to find out what the show's participants wanted. The OIA made its opinion clear in a statement recommending that the show stay put in Salt Lake. The politically-engaged association cares a great deal about the environmental policies of the places it patronizes, and has made inroads with the governor's office in recent years to protect the state's "breathtaking landscapes ... that are so key to the success of our industry," as the statement put it.
Other industry members seem to agree. Starting in May, Outdoor Retailer and the OIA polled 6,000 buyers and sellers on where they wanted the show to be. The results were positive for Salt Lake City — with a caveat. While 82 percent of those surveyed were satisfied with Salt Lake City, 97 percent were open to moving the show if it would lead to a better buying and selling situation.
Salt Lake City responded with an offer that would be hard for just about any show manager to refuse. For starters, the city agreed to add 145,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space to its convention center by the opening of the 2006 Summer Market. To sweeten the deal, the CVB threw in a range of amenities — from free airport shuttles to dining discounts — and local hoteliers and Salt Palace management agreed to reduce their rates for the show.
According to Salt Lake's proposal for the Salt Palace expansion, halls 5, 6 and 7 would be added to the existing halls 1, 2, 3 and 4. Excavation of the parking lot adjacent to the existing halls — where tents now accommodate 60,000 sq. ft. of Outdoor Retailer exhibits — would begin as soon as the Aug. 12–15 show moved out. By next August, an underground parking lot would replace the existing above-ground lot, and its ceiling would become the floor of as large a sprung structure as the 2005 Summer Market requires. By the 2006 summer show, the expansion would be complete.
SLCVB President and CEO Diane Binger said the August 2005 stage already represents an improvement, in that visitors will be able to walk straight from the existing exhibit hall into the new, temporary space. Binger's not worried about getting the expansion up and running by August 2006, because, she said, "We've done it before."
As for the financing, Binger's not worried about that, either. The SLCVB has letters from the city, county and state voicing their support of the county-owned facility's expansion. The City Council already has approved $2.5 million for the project in partnership with the county, and the state has earmarked funds for related infrastructure and service improvements. Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman announced on Aug. 12 plans to move forward, including hiring a construction manager and starting the RFP process.
"We're very optimistic," Binger said. "We've rallied this community in a matter of months. It speaks highly of everyone's commitment to keep this show, and to the meetings industry in general."
The funding proposal is expected go to the Utah State Legislature for approval in January. In the meantime, a contract setting out the terms of keeping the show in Salt Lake for the next five years has been drafted and sent to VNU for approval, according to Binger.
She firmly believes the show, Salt Lake City's largest trade event, is worth the extra effort. Participants spend $32 million per year, and the full economic impact extends well beyond that, she said. Besides, "The people are all outdoorsy and friendly. It's a great fit for our city."
