SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA (BRAIN) Tuesday April 24 2012 2:37 PM MT—Organizers of the Outdoor Retailer trade show are asking the industry to chime in about the best location and date for the semi-annual expo, held in Salt Lake City since 1996.
The expo has nearly outgrown the Salt Palace Convention Center and organizers say there is a short list of facilities available that are large enough to hold the shows. The list includes venues in Denver, Las Vegas, Anaheim, California and Orlando Florida.
Show owner and producer Nielsen Expositions — which also produces the Interbike Expo — and the Outdoor Industry Association, the show's title sponsor, have set up a website to educate the industry about the issues and options. The "Collective Voice" site also contains a discussion area; a survey will be added next month. Michael Hodgson, the former president of the SNEWS trade publishing company, will develop and moderate discussions on the website.
“We’ve done surveys of the OR audience for years, and have even posted the results on our website for the whole industry to see,” said Kenji Haroutunian, vice president at Nielsen Expositions and Outdoor Retailer show director.
“Though the surveys are extremely helpful, the Collective Voice project adds an important new element to the process by giving every industry stakeholder a voice. This way, a dialog can develop amongst industry leaders and a thoughtful, inclusive and open process can drive the resulting decisions that will determine the future success of the OR shows.”
Organizers said their goal is "to decide a show direction in the near future." Outdoor Retailer has a contract with the Salt Palace that expires after Summer Market 2014.
