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

[Herbert Schoenbohm]

Cincinnati, Nashville, and Indianapolis...easy to get to by fly or drive 
and all three have large convention centers next to RV facilities.


On 7/30/2016 7:04 PM, Gary Sutcliffe wrote:
> 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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