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How
big will we be in 2008? It’s Up to You.
The
Seattle Boat Show moved out of the Kingdome
and into Qwest Field Event Center in 2000.
Since the new facility was not completely
finished, the boat show shrank in size.
Ever since, the show has grown every year
as the building was completed and as we
expanded into every nook and cranny. And
now we have the opportunity to grow again!
Four
years ago, the show expanded by teaming
up with the Northwest Yacht Brokers Association
and connecting the “in-water” show to
the “indoor” show and last year we cemented
that relationship for exhibitors and boaters
alike when we created a new positioning
statement for the show – “indoors and
afloat” to demonstrate that the two locations
were completely melded into a single show.
While
all that was going on, three years ago,
we took the unprecedented step of converting
a portion of the 2nd floor of the parking
garage at Qwest Field Event Center into
exhibit space. When that space proved
to be “not enough,” we took the whole
floor. By 2007, the indoor portion of
the show had grown from 180,000 net square
feet when we left the Kingdome to 280,000.
That’s a 56% increase indoors to say nothing
of the number of boats and number of exhibitors
we added when we unified the two shows.
So
with that history in mind, our Boat Show
Committee and Board of Trustees have laid
down another challenge for staff: Keep
growing the show!
Most
of you already know that the Seattle Boat
Show is now the largest show on the West
Coast, so why get bigger?
1.
Because we work for all of you and we
want to provide as much display space
as possible for each of you.
2.
Because there is something really rewarding
when attendees say that “the show is
so big we can’t see it all in one day!”
OK, then come again a second or third
day.
I
will confess that many times in the past,
George Harris our Boat Show Director and
I were convinced that there was no space
left. We had used up every possible square
foot of the building. That is until someone
came up with an out-of-the-box idea that
broke the log jam.
That
happened this spring when someone asked
“why not use the football field to display
boats? That would be really cool.” But
George and I had already worked that idea
from every angle… until we brought it
up one more time with the Seahawks. Turns
out THEY said that sounds great! In addition,
the Seahawks are planning to replace the
Field Turf after the 2007 NFL season so
we couldn’t really do any damage putting
boats on the field. Since then, George
and the Boat Show Committee have come
up with some creative ideas to get around
the challenges that in the past just seemed
overwhelming.
So…
Here
we go… time to expand again. Applications
for the indoor portion of the 2008 Seattle
Boat Show were sent out last week. So
when you get yours, I would encourage
you to return it before the July 31 deadline.
This time, ask for all the space you want.
There is no guarantee that we will be
able to meet everyone’s request, but we’ll
try our best.
If
the biggest boat show on the West Coast
is going to get bigger, it is because
of you. We know that many legacy boat
shows around the country are struggling
to hold their own and very few are growing.
I’m proud to report that our show is growing.
Let’s keep it that way.
Last
year attendees purchased advance tickets
in 34 states and we filled 2,000 room
nights at our official hotels. My sense
is that these folks had a good time, got
their money’s worth and told their friends
that Seattle is the place to shop for
boats, accessories, services and equipment.
Let’s see if we can top 77,000 attendees
in 2008 by growing the show right onto
the Field Turf and send a message that
Seattle is the Superbowl of Boat Shows.
With
warm regards,
Michael
Campbell
President
michael@nmta.net
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