It may not hold the cultural significance of Comic-Con's decision to stay in San Diego after thoughts were entertained to move the international geek gathering to Anaheim, but after hearing the cries of attendees, a decision was reversed to move the bicycle industry's largest trade show from Sin City to Disney City.
And so, San Juan Capistrano-based Nielsen Sports Group's 2011 Interbike International Bicycle Expo will remain in Las Vegas.
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Interbike announced
Sept. 18 that “after a year's worth of discussion and research,” it would move the 2011-13 trade shows to Anaheim, with the
debut there set for Aug. 8-12, 2011. Industry players were behind the
change, Interbike said at the time.
But the announcement drew quick and heated criticism from others in the trade who noted the new dates and location created conflicts with vacations and other bike events.
“The announcement that we were moving the show dates and location
elicited a very real response that surveys and discussions alone
couldn't accomplish,” Andy Tompkins, the Interbike show director, explains in today's press statement.
“Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to this
year's show and the countless conversations we've personally had with
exhibitors and retailers regarding the future dates and location of
Interbike, we are reversing our earlier decision to move the 2011 show
to Anaheim in August. We are hearing loud and clear that, at this time,
the industry prefers September dates and the convenience of Las Vegas.”
The 2011 indoor show will be Sept. 14-16 at the Sands Convention
Center–where it's been since 1998 and where it will be Sept. 19-21, 2012, according to Interbike. Spokespeople say a decision was made to get the word out about the reversal ASAP so vendors and attendees can start making plans.
The change has not appeased some critics who ask how the decision to move was made in the first place.
“There will be more of an explanation on how this went down,” Interbike spokesman Chip Smith vowed to Bicycle Retailer.
Some have also praised producers for listening to members who obviously wanted to keep September dates in Sin City.
Tompkins seconds that emotion.
“We have heard the market's passion and commitment to
this event and we want you to know that we are listening,” he says in the company release. “We believe the
new direction will best serve the current needs of the marketplace.”
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.