[TowerTalk] HARA CLOSED DOORS

[Jim Brown]

On Fri,7/29/2016 11:34 AM, Rudy Bakalov via TowerTalk wrote:
> How about a venue that
>
> 1) Knows how to run events
> 2) Can be leveraged to spread the word about ham radio
> 3) Spouses would want to visit as well
> 4) Reasonably priced to get to/from
>
> Examples include Las Vegas, Orlando, San Diego, Toronto, to name a few.

And charge BIG money to promoters and exhibitors. Talk to any mfr who's 
ever had a booth at a trade show in any one of those places. I've 
attended lots of trade shows in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los 
Angeles, Las Vegas and Orlando, and one in Toronto.

And NONE of these "well run" venues would allow a flea market like 
Dayton, or allow free parking of RVs. Cost of renting these venues is 
far higher than ham events can afford, which also cause registration 
fees to go through the roof.

Finding suitable places for hamfests and conventions requires lots of 
"outside the box" thinking by organizers who also understand those 
aspects of the business. Several years ago, K6MM and K6TD led a team 
that moved the Visalia DX Convention to a larger venue in the same town. 
It has been a quite successful in almost all respects, except that there 
are not enough rooms within walking distance of the venue, which in turn 
seriously limits the late-night hangout sessions that are the major 
reason many of us attend.

73, Jim K9YC