Industry Record Not Yet Set in Concrete

The U.S. tradeshow industry will pass a major milestone less than a year from now, but it raises the question of whether the country's largest shows have hit maximum capacity.

The Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers said last month that sales teams working on CONEXPO-CON/AGG, scheduled March 11-15 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, had broken the 2 million net square foot mark.

According to Tradeshow Week research, it would be the first American show to ever span that much exhibit space.

The triennial show for construction equipment topped the TSW 200 following its 2005 edition, when it reached 1.88 million net sq. ft.

Not far behind is Intl. CES, the Consumer Electronics Assn.'s annual show, which has for several years held the No. 1 spot on the TSW 200 in CONEXPO's off-years.

CES had 1.8 million net sq. ft. this past January, and its 2008 edition will take place before CONEXPO. So, could it possibly surpass the 2 million sq. ft. mark first? And is it even physically possible to do so?

"I can tell you we're on our way, but I don't have any information for you now in terms of proximity," said Dan Cole, vice president of exhibitor services for CES. "We're having a tremendous year once again. All signs point to growth."

On site at this year's show, Cole told TSW his team had sold about 1.25 million net sq. ft. of space for 2008. More recently, he added, "We typically do from 80 to 90 percent resell (on site), but there is some attrition. So we focus on holding onto it and selling the remainder of the space throughout the year."

If his team hit 2 million sq. ft., Cole said, that would be "tremendous," but their top priority is customer service for existing exhibitors, attendees and press.

One big difference between CES and CONEXPO is the size of exhibits. The last time the two shows were in the TSW 200 at the same time (2006), CONEXPO filled 1.8 million net sq. ft. with 1,965 exhibiting firms, while CES filled 1.5 million net sq. ft. with 2,561 exhibitors.

Another difference is that CES is a multi-facility show, spanning not only the entire Las Vegas Convention Center, but also large parts of the Sands Expo & Convention Center/Venetian Resort Hotel Casino.

So, if CONEXPO isn't a multi-facility show, how does it fill so much more space?

The answer: more outdoor exhibits. CES uses fewer parking areas for its exhibition and more of them for, well, parking.

In fact, the only way CONEXPO is able to grow so much, from 2005 to 2008, is by maximizing just about every square inch of available space – both indoor and outdoor – on the LVCC campus.

Michelle Sanford, CONEXPO director of operations, said there would be exhibits in the facility's Gold, Silver, Blue and Orange parking lots, as usual. In addition, organizers intend to use the Green lot, a 15-acre parcel about a block east of the center that normally serves as employee parking or a freight staging area.

They would also like to get their hands on a 3-acre lot next to South Hall that the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority recently acquired.

"That's not confirmed yet, because with the construction timeline moving up, the LVCVA's contractors might need that for staging their materials," said Sanford, referring to the LVCC renovation slated to begin next year, soon after CONEXPO closes. "If they allow us to use it, we will."

Chris Meyer, senior vice president of convention center sales for the LVCVA, is also eager to provide as much space as possible for CONEXPO.

"They completely fence off our entire property and turn it into one big exhibit area," Meyer said. "There really isn't any on-site parking. CONEXPO pays to shuttle our employees" to and from the campus.

That poses the problem of transportation – a growing issue in the country's top convention city. Meyer said he and CONEXPO organizers are looking at several options, including the Las Vegas Monorail, which is a good option for groups with relatively little drive-in attendance, like CONEXPO.

With the show sprawling into adjacent parking lots and bone yards, one has to wonder where it all ends.

Sanford said, "We're hoping, with the construction, to add more exhibits in the north-south connector area. ... We're also looking at multi-facility options. We know that by 2011 we'll probably have to be multi-facility to accommodate our growth."

There's little more room to grow at the LVCC, at least in terms of exhibit space. The renovation currently underway is meant to add significant meeting space and improve circulation, usability and finish, but it doesn't offer the possibility of more exhibits.

Meyer said that's OK with him. The American model of trade-only shows separate from consumer events means smaller shows than in some countries, he noted, but more serious business being conducted.

Besides, he said, "there's a lot of growth in exhibit space around the country. Chicago just expanded. There's enough exhibit space in the United States to accommodate the tradeshows out there now."

After a pause, however, he added, "Of course, we could always use more here."