The Gen Con gamer conference might leave Indiana after 2020 if legislation allowing businesses to refuse service to gays becomes law. Gen Con, LLC sent a letter to Gov. Mike Pence urging him to veto the bill. They said it could cause problems for their attendees. Gen Con expects 56,000 attendees this Summer. Gen Con is under contract with Indy through 2020 and does not plan to breach it…
GRAPH EXPO is moving to Orlando next year. The annual show will take place at the Orange County Convention Center September 25-28, 2016. Graphic Arts Show Company said the move to Florida would help build its Latin America base. The 2015 GRAPH EXPO takes place in Chicago…
Boston media is reporting that MCCA Executive Director Jim Rooney is in line for a new job as CEO of the city’s chamber of commerce. If Rooney is indeed given the chamber job, he would leave the MCCA as plans for a major convention center expansion get underway…
The second EXPO PACK Guadalajara drew more than 11,000 attendees. The biennial show featured 48,000 nsf of exhibit space, up 40% over 2013. EXPO PACK Guadalajara took place March 10-12 in Jalisco. The larger EXPO PACK Mexico takes place June 16-19 in Mexico City…
Work begins this Spring to rebrand the Renaissance St. Louis Grand hotel adjacent to America’s Center into the Marriott St. Louis Grand. The $30 million project includes adding 6,400 sf of meeting and event space. The area also gets a new Courtyard by Marriott this Summer…
The Phoenix Convention Center is moving forward with the adoption of ESCA’s Worker Identification System ID cards for trade show labor. The Phoenix center will host a customer meeting on April 1. Phoenix will be the 13th U.S. convention center to adopt the WIS worker ID…
Reed Exhibitions Greater China named Hu Wei as its next president. He will succeed Nat Wong effective April 16. Hu joined Reed March 16 after 10 years as director of international merchandising for Best Buy. Reed organizes 58 trade shows in China…
Access Intelligence acquired AdMonsters, organizer of the OPS and Publisher Forums conferences for online advertising professionals. OPS is held annually in New York and is seen as a promising target for development of a trade show….
A 7.2% surge in attendance led to a record crowd of more than 71,000 at Natural Products Expo West/Engredea in Anaheim this year. New Hope Media said exhibit space topped 460,000 nsf with more than 2,700 exhibitors, including 634 first-time participants…
A huge fire broke out at the Cairo International Convention Centre on March 3. Egyptian authorities said an electrical short was the cause. Egyptian media said 40 people were injured in the fire, which burned for four hours. Cairo Fashion & Tex was supposed to open March 5…
The American Made Show in Dallas will feature a digital e-commerce marketplace created in a strategic partnership with Balluun. The plan brings buyers & sellers together on line and at the June show for artists who create handmade items for gift shops and galleries…
Tarsus Group said the exhibit floor at its semi-annual OFFPRICE Show at Sands Expo was the largest in show history with 132,000 nsf. February 15-18 OFFPRICE was part of Las Vegas Fashion Week. Its retail-buyer attendance grew 5.5% over February 2014 to 8,460…
Jim Rooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, was named to the state’s Lodging Association Hall of Fame. Rooney was honored February 26 for his career in the Massachusetts hospitality industry. He has led the MCCA since 2003…
A tentative agreement is allowing normal unloading operations at West Coast ports to resume after a long slowdown by union longshoremen. The 5-year contract should be ratified, but shippers warn the cargo backlog could still delay delivery of trade show freight from overseas…
