Trade Show Executive's 2009 The World's Top Convention Centers
Trade Show Executive's 2009 The World's Top Convention Centers
Trade Show Executive's 2009 The World's Top Convention Centers
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>Trade</strong> <strong>Show</strong> Executive<br />
<strong>2009</strong> Directory of the World’s <strong>Top</strong> <strong>Convention</strong> <strong>Centers</strong><br />
<strong>Convention</strong> <strong>Centers</strong> <strong>2009</strong><br />
A State of the Industry Report<br />
by DARLENE GUDEA, VP/publisher & editor,<br />
RENEE DIIULIO, senior editor, news & directories<br />
and NICOLE BURNES, assistant editor<br />
It seems it was just a short while ago<br />
that the convention and exhibition<br />
industry was enjoying its post-9/11<br />
resurgence. But faced with the worst<br />
economic downturn since the Great<br />
Depression, that resurrection was<br />
truncated too soon.<br />
With their fortunes tied to the<br />
industries they serve, events of all types<br />
have suffered in varying degrees. Many<br />
have seen losses in attendance, exhibitors<br />
and net square footage, not just due to<br />
the economy but also to such challenges<br />
as the H1N1 virus (swine flu) and public<br />
perception of events. <strong>The</strong> political<br />
uproar over meetings and events has<br />
resulted in cancellations that are being<br />
felt particularly hard in some of the most<br />
“appealing” destinations, such as Las<br />
Vegas and Hawaii.<br />
Most businesses are re-evaluating,<br />
some are renegotiating and all are<br />
tightening their belts. <strong>Show</strong> organizers are<br />
in a position of power, but they should<br />
also be prepared to give something<br />
in return. <strong>Convention</strong> centers are<br />
much more willing to negotiate – even<br />
renegotiate – with clients and potential<br />
clients who can offer repeat business.<br />
Service and value, however, remain<br />
unchanged. <strong>Show</strong> organizers still hold<br />
high standards, and convention centers<br />
still aim to deliver. “<strong>Show</strong> organizers are<br />
looking for the same responsiveness in<br />
terms of event coordination, but they<br />
may have an overall keener focus on value<br />
and what we’re delivering for the price,”<br />
said Steve Ethier, executive director of<br />
the Minneapolis <strong>Convention</strong> Center.<br />
Subsequently, convention centers<br />
continue to operate in a highly<br />
competitive environment and must still<br />
invest in marketing and improvement<br />
efforts, including greening, while seeing<br />
their budgets shrink. “Few buildings are<br />
very happy with the business they have,”<br />
said Richard Geyer, president and CEO<br />
of the Wisconsin Center District, which<br />
owns and operates Midwest Airlines<br />
Center in Milwaukee, WI.<br />
at the drawing board<br />
Falling revenues pose a serious<br />
challenge, and centers are looking to costcutting<br />
measures as well as ancillary and<br />
non-traditional sources of income to make<br />
up the difference. Sponsorships, advertising,<br />
short-term business and repeat business<br />
represent many centers’ approaches.<br />
Flexibility is key, for both centers and<br />
organizers. “We look for ways together that<br />
we can reduce their expenses and partner<br />
with them,” said Mark Zimmerman, general<br />
manager of Atlanta’s Georgia World<br />
Congress Center (GWCC).<br />
Many centers approach their<br />
negotiations with show organizers as<br />
partnerships. <strong>The</strong> current economic<br />
situation has driven some show<br />
organizers to seek renegotiation of<br />
contracts, and centers have been willing<br />
to talk. Ethier suggests organizers are<br />
driven to return to the table, an unusual<br />
move in the industry, by the drop in show<br />
figures, impacting attendance, exhibit<br />
space and demand for exhibitor services.<br />
“We face the same economic<br />
challenges that show organizers are<br />
facing. Hopefully, they understand we can<br />
be flexible to a point, and then we like to<br />
see some sort of commitment on their<br />
end to providing additional business in<br />
the future,” said Ethier.<br />
competition still tight<br />
To make sure there is a future,<br />
convention centers are willing to work<br />
with show organizers to create a package<br />
that will work. Many are reaching out<br />
directly to shows’ clients to help.<br />
<strong>The</strong> GWCC has designed fam<br />
(familiarization) trips for both the<br />
relevant media and exhibitor groups for<br />
client shows. Those invited are hosted by<br />
the center, permitting them to experience<br />
the city and center directly. “We show<br />
them and tell them all the things that are<br />
going on in Atlanta and the convention<br />
center, and we try to build interest<br />
in those particular industries,” said<br />
Zimmerman.<br />
Of course, a city must have<br />
something to show off when hosting a<br />
fam trip or when making presentations<br />
to organizers, and so destination-building<br />
remains important. “If a city or a market<br />
is going to invest in having a convention<br />
center, then they will need to continue<br />
to progress in terms of making that<br />
destination more attractive. <strong>The</strong>re are<br />
many ways a city can undertake that<br />
effort,” said Ethier.<br />
Minneapolis is currently embarking<br />
on a new branding initiative that will<br />
be supported by market research. <strong>The</strong><br />
center is examining the current market to<br />
determine which actions are a temporary<br />
reaction to the economy and which<br />
will become permanent trends. “What<br />
does the future hold? How should we<br />
respond? Our goal is to identify our<br />
competitive edge,” said Ethier.<br />
Budget constraints can create some<br />
limitations on any center’s efforts to<br />
improve, but today’s municipalities need<br />
to show capabilities or progress in areas<br />
of mass transportation, technology and<br />
development. “If municipalities aren’t<br />
investing in making their downtowns<br />
and cities more vibrant, then clearly they<br />
will not be in the game going forward,”<br />
said Ethier.<br />
1) McCormick Place, Chicago<br />
2,600,000 sf<br />
2) Orange County <strong>Convention</strong> Center,<br />
Orlando<br />
2,100,000 sf<br />
3) Las Vegas <strong>Convention</strong> Center,<br />
Las Vegas<br />
1,984,755 sf<br />
4) Georgia World Congress Center,<br />
Atlanta<br />
1,400,000 sf<br />
5) Kentucky Exposition Center,<br />
Louisville<br />
1,100,000 sf<br />
6) New Orleans Morial <strong>Convention</strong> Center,<br />
New Orleans<br />
1,100,000 sf<br />
7) Reliant Park, Houston 1,056,213 sf<br />
8) International (I-X) Center,<br />
Cleveland<br />
1,050,000 sf<br />
9) Sands Expo & <strong>Convention</strong> Center/<br />
<strong>The</strong> Venetian Resort Hotel Casino,<br />
Las Vegas<br />
1,040,600 sf<br />
10) Dallas <strong>Convention</strong> Center,<br />
Dallas<br />
1,018,942 sf<br />
Prime Exhibit Space at<br />
<strong>Top</strong> Ten U.S. Facilities<br />
Continued on page 14<br />
Snapshot:<br />
<strong>The</strong> Nation’s <strong>Top</strong> Ten <strong>Convention</strong> <strong>Centers</strong><br />
Listed by Square Feet of Prime Exhibit Space<br />
June <strong>2009</strong><br />
14,450,510 sf<br />
Percent of Total SF of Prime<br />
Exhibit Space at All U.S. Facilities 25.1%<br />
10 <strong>Trade</strong> <strong>Show</strong> Executive Directory of the World’s <strong>Top</strong> <strong>Convention</strong> <strong>Centers</strong> www.<strong>Trade</strong><strong>Show</strong>Executive.com