Outdoor Retailer outgrows Salt Lake City
12/10/2012
Outdoor Retailer’s Summer and Winter Market events have taken place in the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City for the last 16 years. Organisers feel, however, that the show is now outgrowing the Utah venue and have canvassed the views of 3,000 industry stakeholders in a bid to decide the best location for future editions.
Denver has been mentioned as a possible alternative, but Outdoor Retailer organisers insist the convention centre there is too small to accommodate existing demand from exhibitors and visitors to the event.
Lori Herrera, executive vice-president of the Outdoor Industry Association, which has been working with the show’s producer, California-based Nielsen Expositions,on the survey, said recently: “We are a size 10 foot trying to fit into a size 8 shoe in all aspects. We know, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. It is also clear that to continue to meet the physical needs of the show in Salt Lake City, we must have the support of the community and local and state elected officials.”
This hints at the possibility of using even more of the space around the main hall in the Salt Palace than the organisers do already. For example, for the Summer Market event, which usually takes place in August, many camping, climbing and other outdoor products go on display outside the building. However, in the survey exhibitors who took part have made it clear they will not countenance moving their stands away from the main hall.
Show director, Nielsen Exposition’s Kenji Haroutunian, has said that neither Salt Lake City nor Denver is able to accommodate all Outdoor Retailer exhibitors and visitors in a single venue. “We will continue to work with city and public officials in Salt Lake and Denver,” he said. “We are also pursuing other venues that are large enough to house OR. We will weigh these options with stakeholder feedback and we hope to have a decision on location by the end of the year.”
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