[CQ-Contest] “You can’t have a Dayton Hamvention in Las Vegas, Nevada,”

[Gary Sutcliffe]

For a hamfest/convention to reach the attendance of Dayton it has to be 
within a reasonable driving distance for major population centers.  Most 
attendees are not hard core like people joining this group who probably 
come down Thursday or even Wednesday to attend extra events like Contest 
U, FDIM, etc.  Most come down just for Saturday. The load up their car 
drive a few hours and split gas costs. Those people are not going to buy 
a plane ticket.   Even most of the hard core contesters coming for 
several days car pool to Dayton.

The flea market is a big thing for a lot of attendees.  Only a few of 
the flea market dealers could afford to haul their wares to a NV flea 
market. Certainly the guy wanting to unload a boat anchor or two can’t 
put it on the plane. Buyers are only going to buy stuff they can fit in 
their luggage.

Then there are the inside vendors. A lot of those businesses are small 
operations. They are not going to be able to afford Las Vegas convention 
rates along with the unions charging to haul the boxes in, plug in power 
cords, etc. As it is, every year there seem to be fewer inside dealers. 
If the ARRL had not started taking up half of one of the halls there 
would be even more empty space.  This is even with DARA offering smaller 
exhibit spaces at lower prices than when I last exhibited inside a 
number of years ago.

No doubt HARA got to be a real dump.  But, the reality is I come down 
socialize with others I only see in person once a year, to see what new 
products are being introduced, catch a seminar or two and maybe buy or 
sell a few items in the flea market.  I go every year unless I have some 
other event I can’t get out of. Never once have I considered skipping it 
because of HARA’s poor condition.

If it were moved to Las Vegas I probably would make it once every 5 
years or so.  I hope DARA gets the new site finalized and has a great 
Hamvention in 2017. I plan to attend.

Gary, W9XT
www.w9xt.com

On 7/30/2016 1:58 PM, Barry wrote:
> Why not?
>
> BTW, the quote is from from Ron Cramer, the General Manager of
> Hamvention, as quoted in this article:
> http://www.whio.com/news/business/hamvention-to-find-new-home-after-hara-arena-annou/nr7C2/
>
>
> To me, Vegas has several advantages:
>
> 1.  Accessible via cheap, non-stop flights from almost anywhere.
> 2.  Better, more predictable weather.  No rain.
> 3.  Infinite hotel space.
> 4.  Plenty of alternate activities for both hams and spouses.
>
> With no disrespect to those who live in the Dayton area, it is a
> depressing, run-down, small city.  There are plenty of better options,
> including Vegas.
>
> Barry W2UP
>
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