Hanley Takes One More to the Bay

Hanley Wood Exhibitions is moving another tradeshow to Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino: Intl. Pool Spa Patio Expo (formerly Intl. Pool & Spa Expo/Backyard Living Expo). Rick McConnell, the company's vice president of exhibitions, said, “We're there for at least the next three years, if not longer.”

Hanley Wood last month signed a three-year contract for Surfaces at Mandalay Bay, starting in 2011. That show has taken place for several years at Sands Expo & Convention Center, also in Las Vegas. At the time, show management cited uncertainty about the previously announced expansion of the Sands as one reason for Surfaces' move.

McConnell said Intl. Pool Spa's move to Mandalay Bay had nothing to do with construction on the Las Vegas Convention Center, which is scheduled to start right around the time of the next show, Nov. 18-20.

Mandalay Bay is “just an overall really good package for the attendee there, with the three price-point hotels connected by tram and all the amenities associated with the property,” he explained.

From 2004 to 2007, the pool and spa show rotated between Orlando's Orange County Convention Center and the LVCC. It was No. 81 on the 2007 Tradeshow Week 200 and a three-time winner in the TSW Fastest 50, having made the cut in '04, '05 and '06.

According to Tradeshow Week research, the exhibition saw steady increases in net square footage and number of exhibiting companies from '04 to '06. Attendance, however, dropped each time the show took place in Orlando. At its most recent staging there, Nov. 28-30, 2007, the show was down in area and exhibitors, as well as attendance. That show spanned 248,400 net square feet and attracted 702 exhibiting firms and 12,422 exhibitors.

Hanley Wood projects the '08 show will be 300,000 net sq. ft.