Surfaces to Cover a New Showfloor
Lisa Plummer -- Tradeshow Week, 1/4/2008 2:24:00 PM
Surfaces is saying goodbye to the Sands Expo & Convention Center and hello to Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. The show, No. 40 on the most recent Tradeshow Week 200, is set to move to the south end of the Strip beginning with the Jan. 26-28, 2011, show.
Owned and operated by Hanley Wood Exhibitions, Surfaces filled 505,531 net square feet of exhibit space with 1,065 exhibiting companies and 38,246 in attendance (including exhibitors) in 2007. It will fill the void left by SnowSports Industries America, which will produce its last SIA SnowSports Trade Show in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay in 2009 before moving to Denver in 2010.
According to Surfaces Show Director Dana Teague, the show that has called the Sands home since 1993 has a three-year contract with Mandalay Bay starting in 2011.
Richard Harper, vice president of sales and marketing at Mandalay Bay, said discussions with Hanley Wood about moving Surfaces to Mandalay had gone on for some time, but were always thwarted by a lack of space during the desired dates.
“With SIA moving to Denver, the dates opened up, and they (Hanley Wood) were very quick to pursue it,” Harper said. “They like the way we do business, they like the facility, and we have a strong partnership with them. ... We’re thrilled.”
Teague said another reason for the move had to with the tentative nature of the Sands’ plans for a convention space expansion.
“There appears to be a level of uncertainty at the Sands regarding exactly what type of facility will be available in 2011,when the facility will be completed, and how the transition will take place,” she added.
Surfaces will be the fifth Hanley Wood show to set up shop at Mandalay Bay, including those that rotate in and out of Las Vegas. Still, Teague added, the company will continue to take advantage of the entire Las Vegas convention center landscape.
“Hanley Wood does many events at Mandalay Bay and at the other two major facilities in Las Vegas,” she said. “The exact number varies from year to year. We will continue to use all three major facilities in Las Vegas, as well as other venues throughout the country.”
