DENVER—SnowSports Industries America will move its annual trade show from Las Vegas to Denver starting in 2010, bringing an estimated $30 million a year in economic impact, city officials said Tuesday.
SIA signed a deal to hold the trade show in the Mile High City for 10 years.
The four-day show attracts an estimated 20,000 representatives of retailers and manufacturers every January, the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau said.
The bureau called it the biggest convention booking in the city’s history.
Richard Scharf, president of the bureau, said his group has been working on landing the trade show for four years.
The expansion of Denver’s Colorado Convention Center and construction of a Hyatt Regency hotel gave the city the capacity to handle the event, Scharf said.
“Denver was able to put together a very attractive package for SIA,” he said.
The show has been held in Las Vegas for 35 years, the last six at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
SIA President David Ingemie said the show needs more space, and Denver was able to provide it.
“We’ve literally been turning companies away and denying established brands the opportunity to expand their presence at the trade show,” Ingemie said. “Strictly from a space issue, especially meeting and event space, we have been looking at alternatives for some time.”
SIA is based in McLean, Va.
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