OR to Denver? Still contracted for SLC through 2018

By John Rogers

Everyone in Denver seems to be gearing up for a huge semiannual outdoor industries trade show to makes its debut in the Colorado capital in January. The Denver Post ran a story on May 26 under the headline “It’s official: SIA Snow Show sells to Outdoor Retailer with combined show in Denver in January 2018.”

Emerald Expositions, the owner of the Outdoor Retailer summer and winter markets that have been held at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City twice a year since 1996, announced in May that it had purchased Snowsports Industries America’s annual Snow Show and intended to combine it with the Outdoor Retailer show to create the largest outdoor and winter-sports gathering in North America. Colorado and outdoor industry media are already reporting that the first of these mega shows will be held in Denver in January.

That might be a problem for Salt Lake City.

Through its convention and visitors’ bureau, Visit Salt Lake, Emerald Expositions is contracted to hold three more markets in the Utah capital. The summer market scheduled for July doesn’t seem to be in question, but a January show in Denver would necessitate breaking the contract with Salt Lake City for markets in January and July 2018.

The Outdoor Retailer events have been no small potatoes for Utah. January’s Winter Market had 25,000 attendees and more than 700,000 square feet of exhibit space. The most recent Winter Market had a $22 million economic impact, based on direct delegate spending. Last year’s Summer Market had an estimated $27 million economic impact. Estimates for the show’s first 20 years in Salt Lake City put the total economic impact at $565 million, as well as producing $52 million in city, county and state tax revenues.

Emerald Expositions announced in February that the tradeshow was looking for a way out of Salt Lake City and that Salt Lake City would not be considered to host the show again. Outdoor Retailer, in cooperation with the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) and Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, had vowed to look elsewhere for a host city if Utah’s state and congressional officials stuck with their desire to get state control of federal lands in the state. Faced with what some people believed was an ultimatum, Gov. Gary Herbert rejected that plea, including sticking to his call for Pres. Donald Trump to rescind the new Bears Ears National Monument designation, despite the potential loss of the OR shows and their annual $47 million economic impact.

Thus ended a two-decade relationship between the largest tradeshow of its type and a host area steeped in an outdoors culture and a multitude of recreational options for show attendees and the general public.

Although many had considered Denver an ideal alternative to Salt Lake City to host the Outdoor Retailer markets, a non-complete clause in the city’s contract with Snowsports Industries America’s Snow Show, contracted to be in Denver until 2030, prevented Emerald Expositions from moving their shows there. Emerald’s $16.7 million acquisition of the Snow Show paves the way for Denver to secure its bid to host Emerald’s summer and winter Outdoor Retailer trade shows, as well as the company’s Interbike trade show and Outdoor Retailer’s new soft goods and outdoor apparel trade show set for November.

Visit Salt Lake is holding its cards close to the vest concerning the controversy. Although the contract the city has with Emerald seems to be valid, Visit Salt Lake’s president and CEO Scott Beck declined comment on the ongoing dispute.

“We too were notified of this news late last week,” Beck said in reply to a query about the contract and Visit Salt Lake’s intentions. “We are working with the show ownership to understand the implications. We have no further comment at this time.”

Emerald Expositions hasn’t addressed the contract situation extensively either. At the time of the announcement of its intention to leave Salt Lake City, the company published a question and answer document about the move:

“Question: Do you plan to stay in Utah through 2018? When will Outdoor Retailer leave Utah? Will we be in Salt Lake City for Summer Market, July 26-29, 2017?

“Answer: Though we are contracted through 2018, we are considering all our options after Summer Market 2017. We are doing the necessary work to procure an alternative location. Though we may desire the flexibility to leave sooner, it is a complicated process involving many moving parts to make it happen. Salt Lake City has been hospitable to Outdoor Retailer for the past 20 years, but we are firmly aligned with the outdoor community and are working on finding a new home.”