Boston, MA – The popular PAX East video gaming convention will remain in Boston for at least the next ten years in an agreement announced today by Reed Exhibitions.
PAX East, which drew 70,000 attendees the past two years, was an expansion of the original Penny Arcade Exhibition (PAX ) launched on the West Coast in 2004. It moved in 2010 to the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center and then to the larger Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC) where growth skyrocketed. But the organizers PAX East and Reed Exhibitions have set their sites even higher. They plan to build the show into one of the largest video gaming events in the world with 100,000 attendees over the course of the three-day event.
As part of the agreement, PAX East has also agreed to contribute a total of $325,000 over the next ten years to the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute (MassDiGI). The institute is an initiative launched by Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray in 2011 with three primary goals: (1) Promote collaboration between academia and the gaming industry, (2) Nurture new and existing talent, and (3) Strengthen the industry’s growing presence across the Commonwealth.
“As PAX East has continued to grow, Boston has more than met the challenge with impeccable service and attention to detail,” said Reed Senior Vice President Greg Topalian. “The partnership between the state of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute only sweetens the pot for us.”
The agreement follows news from MCCA that 2012 is on track to be the best year for meetings and conventions in Boston since 2007. Jim Rooney, executive director of the MCCA, expects events at the BCEC and Hynes to generate an economic impact of $625 million and 601,000 hotel room nights this year, a 34% jump over the 446,596 room nights generated by events in 2011.
The 2012 edition of PAX East will take place April 6-8. The show is open to the public with day passes available as well as a three-day pass for a mere $65.
Reach Greg Topalian at (203) 840-4800 or greg@reedpop.com; Jim Rooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, at (617) 954-2000 or jrooney@massconvention.com
