Showtime in a Golden State

With an economy that consistently is among the ranks of the largest nations in the world, more days with sunshine than without in the southern part of the state and moderate temperatures year-round, it's no wonder that California long has attracted more than its share of trade and consumer shows.

One of the busiest tradeshow destinations in the state is the Southern California city of San Diego, and it's no surprise. San Diego enjoys a year-round mild climate and drew 10 Tradeshow Week 200 shows last year, ranking the city sixth in number of TSW 200 shows in this year's directory.

Plus, it will be the busiest city in the state next year, with 74 shows scheduled, according to the 2010 TSW Data Book.

Steven Johnson, vice president of public affairs at the San Diego Convention Center Corp., said the outlook for next year is “so far, so good.”

He added, however, it's hard to predict attendance expectations.

Johnson said this year has been fair. “Overall, we've seen some events doing very well and some struggling,” he added.

Two shows scheduled this fall, the Mortgage Bankers Assn.'s Annual Convention & Expo Oct. 11-14 and the Natl. Assn. of Realtors' Realtors Conference & Expo Nov. 13-16, deal with the housing market, Johnson said, which was one of the sectors earliest affected by the economic downturn and one that's seeing a bit of recovery.

“It will be interesting to see how attendance is in these two events, with the uptick in the housing industry across the country,” he added.

One show that's done exceptionally well is the city's largest event, Comic-Con Intl., which Johnson said sold out three months in advance.

The city also is home to the third-largest convention center in the state, the San Diego Convention Center, with 615,701 square feet of exhibit space. According to the TSW Major Exhibit Hall Directory, the San Diego CC is ranked No. 23 in size in the United States.

The SDCCC is looking to change that, though. A plan to add about 500,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space is under discussion. Johnson said the mayor's task force on the project recently submitted its report recommending expansion.

The additional space at the San Diego CC could make it larger than its northern neighbor and competitor – unless the Anaheim Convention Center, with its 813,607 sq. ft. of exhibit space, has its say and moves forward with a proposed 300,000 sq. ft. convention center expansion.

That's not all that's on the drawing board in Anaheim, said Charles Ahlers, president and CEO of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau. Two developers are working to secure financing for top-end hotels at Garden Walk, a development with restaurants, shops and hotels located near the convention center.

“The chances of them getting funding is pretty decent,” he added.

The city is ranked just behind San Diego on this year's list, at seventh, in terms of TSW 200 shows. Last year, Anaheim hosted eight of the largest shows in the country.

“Anaheim is a city that has a lot of meetings and tradeshows,” Ahlers said. Despite the economy's effect on that business around the country this year, he added shows held in the destination only have been down roughly 15 percent in attendance on average, compared with higher averages in other destinations.

Next year, Anaheim will host the same number of citywide events as this year – 43 – but, Ahlers said, “Next year is probably not going to be as robust as '09. ... They're smaller meetings coming in '10 than in '09.”

Anaheim's larger neighbor, though, is looking to pick up more events next year than it has hosted in previous years, owing, at least in part, to a new development in the convention center area.

Los Angeles, which has struggled to reclaim business it once had, will welcome a new hotel property to its downtown area next year when the JW Marriott Hotel Los Angeles at L.A. Live opens in mid-February, said Michael Krouse, senior vice president of sales at LA Inc., the city's convention and visitors bureau.

“It's sort of a new destination to people,” he added. “... We obviously have a lot of opportunity to grow.”

This year, the city hosted 17 citywide events, but that will rise to 20 next year, Krouse said.

One major show held in the destination this year was the Entertainment Software Assn.'s E3Expo, the revitalized version of E³/Electronic Entertainment Expo.

“The old E3 is back,” Krouse said. “That's good news.”

The recent show had a 350,000 net sq. ft. showfloor, with 216 exhibitors and an attendance capped at 40,000, including exhibitor personnel, according to show management.

One show causing a stir in Los Angeles next year is the American Society of Assn. Executives & The Center for Assn. Leadership's ASAE Annual Meeting & Expo, which will attract thousands of association executives to the destination.

“They should do very well (in attendance),” Krouse said. “We're very excited about it.”

Farther north is the only other California city to host TSW 200 shows, San Francisco.

The City by the Bay hosted five TSW 200 shows in 2008, putting it into a tie with New Orleans, Boston and Rosemont for ninth.

San Francisco's Moscone Center and Moscone West has a combined 1.2 million sq. ft. of space – but officials are shooting for more.

A plan to add 110,000 square feet of exhibit space and another 180,000 sq. ft. of mixed-use space – built adjacent to the existing underground exhibit space in Moscone South – is in play, according to San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau officials.