Thoughts, observations and opinions on the National

[Matthew H]

Will the national ever be back on the west coast again? I was only 11 yrs old when I went to my one and only National. I don't think it's ever been back to Los Angeles, although I wasn't paying much attention in my teenage years.

[Bilko G]

Originally Posted by Matthew H

Will the national ever be back on the west coast again? I was only 11 yrs old when I went to my one and only National. I don't think it's ever been back to Los Angeles, although I wasn't paying much attention in my teenage years.

It was held in Anaheim back in 2006

[joeadcock]

Though may not be a possibility, being a Floridian my whole life(deep south of Miami), would be nice to have a show in the lower South East some time. I went to the Show in Atlanta in 1993 and I thought it was great, though I was alot younger then.
I thought this show was really good though, just kind of far for me.

Frank

[Matthew H]

Originally Posted by Bilko G

It was held in Anaheim back in 2006

Figures it was the year I spent Bois le Roi... I've been out of touch, I probably would have missed it, even if I was in town. Does the venue alternate, east-west, or was it rare?

[Jim VB]

Originally Posted by Matthew H

Figures it was the year I spent Bois le Roi... I've been out of touch, I probably would have missed it, even if I was in town. Does the venue alternate, east-west, or was it rare?

It doesn't alternate. As Rob d. noted, the current schedule is as follows:

2011: Donald E Stephens Convention Center; Rosemont, Ill.

2012: International Exposition (I-X) Center; Cleveland, OH

2013: Donald E Stephens Convention Center; Rosemont, Ill.

2014: TBD

2015: Donald E Stephens Convention Center; Rosemont, Ill.


Chicago required a multi-year contract to book. Other promoters were trying to book that space.

In various posts from Mike Berkus, who is on the Board of The National, he has stated that Anaheim does not want them back. They have looked into the Mosconi Center in San Francisco and that doesn't work. They only book consumer events a maximum of 18 months in advance, and that's not enough lead time to pull everything together.

So, if you want a West Coast show:
1. Find a convention center with more than 300,000 sq. ft. of space, all on one floor, in one building.
2. Check their union rules for set up. (The Javitz Center in NYC wants $2450 per booth for set-up. Cleveland wants $45.)
3. Check price, space, and availability of hotels.
4. Check transportation (long distance and local.)
5. Check parking (Just for Alan!)
6. Consider the climate. (Baltimore may have been hot and humid, but Tampa, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and/or Phoenix would have been worse.)


They took a chance this year and tried Baltimore, even though it had only 290,000 sq. ft. It seems like everyone was OK with it, but there are fewer cities than you think, that meet this criteria.

[timzcardz]

Originally Posted by Jim VB

They took a chance this year and tried Baltimore, even though it had only 290,000 sq. ft. It seems like everyone was OK with it, but there are fewer cities than you think, that meet this criteria.

That's interesting, because it looked like they didn't even use all of the available space.

This was my first National so I have nothing to compare it to. Was vendor/corporate participation down?

[Matthew H]

Originally Posted by Jim VB

So, if you want a West Coast show...

1. So why has it not been back to the LACC. (the only national I've been to) Did they not want them back either?

2. How 'bout Vegas? Tons of CC's there.

[Anthony S.]

Originally Posted by Matthew H

2. How 'bout Vegas? Tons of CC's there.

Something tells me that the adage "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" really wouldn't be necessary.