Friendly Competition: Texas Venues Vie for Shows

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 10/25/2004

With nearly six million square feet of exhibit space throughout the state of Texas, including a wealth of recently added space in major cities, many of the state's tradeshow facility managers say they are busy working on their competitive strategies — against each other.

Shea Guinn, president and general manager of Houston's SMG-Reliant Park facilities, said he is finding himself fighting with other Texas facilities for the "same piece of the pie" more than ever. "There's only so much business to go around," Guinn said.

Frank Poe, incoming director of convention and event services for the Dallas Convention Center and current CEO and executive director of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, agrees. "The amount of business to go after has probably reached a saturation point," he said.

According to Tradeshow Week research, 368 shows are scheduled to take place in Texas in 2005 (including 12 Tradeshow Week 200 shows), up from 267 in 2004.

Of the total 2005 shows, nearly 65 percent are headed to Dallas, whose most substantial expansion was completed in 2002 with the addition of a 203,000 square foot hall.

Sonia Garza, vice president and general manager of the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau said the city, which will host 34 shows in 2005, is geared to compete for additional business from Texas associations and more expansive shows.

Houston recently completed $1 billion in expansion efforts, including the 2003 addition of 540,000 sq. ft. to the George R. Brown Convention Center. "We already did our homework, so now it's time to fill them up," Garza said. Greater Houston CVB President and CEO Jordy Tollett said his city's expansions have given it a competitive edge.

Waco Convention Center Director Elizabeth Taylor said she'd also like a turn at wooing additional tradeshow business to her 119,000 sq. ft. facility. Of the 368 shows scheduled to take place in Texas during 2005, only one show appears to be headed for Waco. A proposal for facility renovation that has been in the hands of the Waco City Council for nearly three years is the culprit, Taylor said. Watching other cities expand and redevelop their facilities is frustrating to those who would like to see more exhibition business come to Waco, she said.

"Every time I turn around, I think Dallas and San Antonio are both expanding," Taylor added.

But over-expansion has become a pressing issue for Texas facilities unable to garner business for their enlarged spaces, Guinn said. "You gotta see if demand is going to keep up with expansion. The number of conventions is not growing at the same rate as all of the expansions," he said.

Poe said many of the facilities' "over-built situation" is "a reflection of where the market is at. This is sort of a cooling off period that I think a lot of communities are going through now."

Dallas will continue to maximize its options with its current space, said Tom Noonan, senior vice president of sales and service for the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We need to concentrate on the space that we've got. There's a lot more competition now in the state of Texas."