Future National Locations - Same Old Story

[Exhibitman]

Driving. Being from LA it is a treat for me to go a place where I do not need a car, so I hate having to rent a car and deal with it, but last time I decided to go with it and had a good time. Getting away from the IX Center is critical, as is not using the bathrooms there after 10:00 a.m. (worst place to drop a deuce this side of TJ). Still, Rosemont is light years better.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Driving. Being from LA it is a treat for me to go a place where I do not need a car, so I hate having to rent a car and deal with it, but last time I decided to go with it and had a good time. Getting away from the IX Center is critical, as is not using the bathrooms there after 10:00 a.m. (worst place to drop a deuce this side of TJ). Still, Rosemont is light years better.

Huge difference is there's little traffic in and around Cleveland.

[Exhibitman]

That's true but in Rosemont I can skip the car entirely.

[Snapolit1]

People running the National want to maximize attendance, maximize sales, maximize publicity, and maximize profit. If there were better places to have it from their point of view I can't imagine what their incentive would be to ignore them.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

That's true but in Rosemont I can skip the car entirely.

Absolutely correct! But figured being from the LA area, traffic was a big reason you didn't like driving.

[egri]

It sounds like there won’t be a change of venue until a National (or likely, a few Nationals) is a flop. In this crazy market, it could be a while.

[bounce]

Chicago is the best location all things considered. Easy to get to, good event space, good amenities.

Cleveland is pretty easy to get to, and the site is pretty good. It's the lack of amenities in and around the site that is the primary issue.

Atlantic City is a major hassle to get to, but the site is pretty good and the amenities are good. Being that close to New York I suspect is actually what keeps it in the mix.

I heard good things about Baltimore, although it's not as easy to get to as Chicago/Cleveland. However, I seem to recall there were some site issues that ultimately dropped it out of the future mix.

I went to the National in Anaheim, it was a really good show from my perspective. However, I do think cost, including cost of the amenities (hotels specifically) creates some issue there because of the Disney proximity.

I'd certainly be willing to do Dallas, easy to get to and pretty good amenities.
Houston is easy to get to and tons of great amenities.
I'd be willing to try Kansas City.
Phoenix could easily handle this, but it would be lung burning hot that time of year.
Vegas could easily handle this, I've never heard a good reason why The National is the only convention that can't seem to make it work - and the gambling argument is dumb.
Atlanta would very likely work.
Orlando probably could work, although it possibly has some similar Anaheim type issues.
Nashville is too small, it's somewhat of a pain to get to.
San Diego works for Comic Con, seems like it could work for this? But the non-show stuff I'm sure is pretty expensive.
What about Denver?

At the end of the day, unless things changed for cities to submit "bids", I think the committee just sticks with what works. There is no incentive to change the rotation unless something falls apart (like when Cleveland's site shut down). Although, the "market" has changed pretty dramatically over the past few years and I imagine attendance would be bananas wherever you put it.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by BobC

Absolutely correct! But figured being from the LA area, traffic was a big reason you didn't like driving.

Traffic is an annoyance to be sure but actually, I just do not like driving at all, so whenever I have to drive everywhere it is a hassle. Sometimes you do see the most interesting things, though, when you drive around LA:




My office is a few minutes from Disney, Warner Brothers and Universal. I was driving home one evening and saw that ahead of me in traffic. Must've been out for a spin from Universal.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Traffic is an annoyance to be sure but actually, I just do not like driving at all, so whenever I have to drive everywhere it is a hassle. Sometimes you do see the most interesting things, though, when you drive around LA:




My office is a few minutes from Disney, Warner Brothers and Universal. I was driving home one evening and saw that ahead of me in traffic. Must've been out for a spin from Universal.

That is cool Adam.

[frankbmd]

This topic is discussed annually on this forum and has never had an impact. Carry on.