Genuine question, what is with the National staying in Chicago

[Brent G.]

I’ve been to shows there in March and November, and both are HOT. I can’t imagine July.

[BobbyStrawberry]

I'd be more likely to go if it was held in a more vacation-y locale, like Miami or San Diego.

[jayshum]

There are always complaints on here about the location of the National, but I don't think overall attendance has really been an issue in the last few years. Maybe some net54 members aren't going, but plenty of other people are.

[MVSNYC]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

I'd be more likely to go if it was held in a more vacation-y locale, like Miami or San Diego.

This.

Wish they'd get more of a variety of locations in the rotation. A beach destination would be great, or add in Vegas or NYC (Javitz Center?). ATL, Dallas, etc. I really enjoyed the 2016 AC Nat'l (I know a lot of people hate AC), and Baltimore 2012 was great. I think the only Chicago one I attended was 2008. Was fun, other than loosing my shirt on a Boston Garter I consigned to Mastro's Live Auction.

[balltrash]

I believe some of the more pressing challenges are:

- finding a large enough venue to host the show given how big it has become.
- being able to book said venue far enough in advance (assuming it is even available during the period of time needed.
- and a HUGE issue which many of the present stock of dealers may not even keep in mind given how long it has been since it was a factor - Rosemont is non-union venue. You would not believe how much cost it adds to have the show in a place where unions are part of the picture...it would eliminate a wide swath of exhibitors immediately or after they feel the pain of paying those bills once they certainly are not going to do it again (in many cases).

[Snapolit1]

Sure the non-union angle / cost consideration is huge. Apparently union costs have severely affected Javits in NYC.

Originally Posted by balltrash

I believe some of the more pressing challenges are:

- finding a large enough venue to host the show given how big it has become.
- being able to book said venue far enough in advance (assuming it is even available during the period of time needed.
- and a HUGE issue which many of the present stock of dealers may not even keep in mind given how long it has been since it was a factor - Rosemont is non-union venue. You would not believe how much cost it adds to have the show in a place where unions are part of the picture...it would eliminate a wide swath of exhibitors immediately or after they feel the pain of paying those bills once they certainly are not going to do it again (in many cases).

[Rich Klein]

Dallas does not yet the infrastructure to support a NSCC. Maybe someday but it's a few years in the future and for the people who complain about heat in Chicago, well DFW blows away Chicago on that front

[obiwan1129]

Originally Posted by balltrash

- Rosemont is non-union venue. You would not believe how much cost it adds to have the show in a place where unions are part of the picture...it would eliminate a wide swath of exhibitors immediately or after they feel the pain of paying those bills once they certainly are not going to do it again (in many cases).

I didn't realize Rosemont was non-union. I've done a lot of trade shows it is always a pain to deal with the union and/or the show logistics. You can't even change a light bulb in your booth in McCormick. In Vegas you can't use the elevator or anything with wheels to move your booth gear, hand carry only. So glad I don't do trade shows anymore. The extortion, I mean markup, for GES services at a lot of the shows makes Ticketmaster look reasonable.

A lot of locations are hot in July/August. They should have functioning AC though. You really don't want to think about Vegas, St Louis, or Atlanta that time of year.