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Its in Columbus, Ohio...

That is the 2009 show I believe. I know that our chapter will not be bidding again for the West Coast slot, too many shenanigins at the e-board level. Not really worth putting all that time and money into doing another bid again when things are fishy like that.

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That is the 2009 show I believe. I know that our chapter will not be bidding again for the West Coast slot, too many shenanigins at the e-board level. Not really worth putting all that time and money into doing another bid again when things are fishy like that.

Ain't that the truth. For the amount of support (lack of) that a local gets in doing a Nats from the National organization it'll come a time when no one will want to host it. I know as long as things stay the way they are my club won't bid on one....and I could pull off a killer Nats given our clubs location in Cincinnati...

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Well, then everyone remember to vote next year when the eboard ballots come out.

Its amazing how many members have'nt voted...but then I think IPMS is forgetting just how many members don't use the internet for things...even those who do have a home computer or access to one at work.

The Eboard also has the mindset that unless you've hosted a Nats you don't have anything to offer, which is a narrow attitude if you ask me...while I've never done that I think I know enough about what is what to offer a fresh look at things...but what do I know :cheers:

I know I've voted every year...

Edited by crazydon
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Yes, I vote every year also (not that is does alot of good) I think the eboard needs to really consider newer chapters. Last year's Orange County Nationals was a relative disaster and not only had that club pulled off good shows in the past, but it also had an ebaord member sitting on it. That just goes to show that even a club that has hosted a national should not be considered above any other for that sole purpose.

As an organization we want to grow. One big way to do that is to spread the wealth a bit, not just pat each others back and support the good ole boyz network.

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Yes, I vote every year also (not that is does alot of good) I think the eboard needs to really consider newer chapters. Last year's Orange County Nationals was a relative disaster and not only had that club pulled off good shows in the past, but it also had an ebaord member sitting on it. That just goes to show that even a club that has hosted a national should not be considered above any other for that sole purpose.

As an organization we want to grow. One big way to do that is to spread the wealth a bit, not just pat each others back and support the good ole boyz network.

I aggree with you 100%. The problem with hosting the Nats is the National organization is still running things like they did when IPMS was formed, putting the burden on the host local chapter without offering any support...but taking 50% of any profit after the event.

Now we're in the 21st century and the Nats has become a major event to host, demanding things like convention centers and hotel packages. The host club(s) are forced to handle any negotiating that's needed. You need someone who understands what's involved with the fine print with these type of contracts and unless a host club happens to have a lawyer sitting in a event planning group then something can and will get missed.

I also know that running a local show is a hell of a lot different than doing a Nats. While I do think my local crew could pull one off we lack some key things, web designer, lawyer...and most of all....FUNDING. Major convention centers where I live (Cincinnati Ohio) want major money for deposits before they committ to something and those are non-refundable..if we didn't win said bid then we'd be SOL a major chunk of change we don't have here to begin with.

I see a time in the near future when only clubs that have hosted a Nats within say a 4 year time frame are able to bid on a Nats, because they will/should have made money from the the last event to cover up-front money for the next event. The issue will then be will these same clubs be willing to repeat every 4 years...personally I doubt it given the fustration hosting this type of event can bring.

Edited by crazydon
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Well to answer the first question on 2010, we here in Phoenix plan on bidding. We hosted the 04 Nats without any major difficulties. I too see things changing in regards to the Nats. The Natioanl will have to take a much stronger role in the future to prevent what happened last year.

Jim

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Well to answer the first question on 2010, we here in Phoenix plan on bidding. We hosted the 04 Nats without any major difficulties. I too see things changing in regards to the Nats. The Natioanl will have to take a much stronger role in the future to prevent what happened last year.

Jim

:lol: Point made Jim :rolleyes:

PS...got your shades? :blink:

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Well to answer the first question on 2010, we here in Phoenix plan on bidding. We hosted the 04 Nats without any major difficulties. I too see things changing in regards to the Nats. The Natioanl will have to take a much stronger role in the future to prevent what happened last year.

Jim

Having hosted 2004 gives you a edge in my mind for the bidding this year (I'm neutral between your crew and Portland since both are a tad out of driving range), you know what to look for allready with contracts and have a support system in place.

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I'm neutral between your crew and Portland since both are a tad out of driving range

So, is Portland bidding? Man, I'd love to visit the Pacific Northwest..although another trip to Phoenix would be cool too. This time, we'd rent a car and spend a few days up north..check out Sedona and the Grand Canyon.

SN

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So, is Portland bidding? Man, I'd love to visit the Pacific Northwest..although another trip to Phoenix would be cool too. This time, we'd rent a car and spend a few days up north..check out Sedona and the Grand Canyon.

SN

That's what my intel is saying ;) we'll find out in a few weeks :whistle:

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I agree with you 100%. The problem with hosting the Nats is the National organization is still running things like they did when IPMS was formed, putting the burden on the host local chapter without offering any support...but taking 50% of any profit after the event.

Now we're in the 21st century and the Nats has become a major event to host, demanding things like convention centers and hotel packages. The host club(s) are forced to handle any negotiating that's needed. You need someone who understands what's involved with the fine print with these type of contracts and unless a host club happens to have a lawyer sitting in a event planning group then something can and will get missed.

I also know that running a local show is a hell of a lot different than doing a Nats. While I do think my local crew could pull one off we lack some key things, web designer, lawyer...and most of all....FUNDING. Major convention centers where I live (Cincinnati Ohio) want major money for deposits before they committ to something and those are non-refundable..if we didn't win said bid then we'd be SOL a major chunk of change we don't have here to begin with.

I see a time in the near future when only clubs that have hosted a Nats within say a 4 year time frame are able to bid on a Nats, because they will/should have made money from the the last event to cover up-front money for the next event. The issue will then be will these same clubs be willing to repeat every 4 years...personally I doubt it given the frustration hosting this type of event can bring.

Hey! I'm new here, but was the convention treasurer for Columbus' 97 Nationals, and will be the Registration/Webmaster for the 09 Columbus convention. So, I have a pretty good idea what happens to make a Nationals run. First off, you're right, that the IPMS/USA doesn't provide financial support (other than $2000 in seed money), but they do provide some other assistance, including breakdowns of every past convention, and every convention does an after-action report listing what went well, what went wrong, what to watch out for, etc. We went to school extensively on those after-action reports before bidding for the 97 convention, and it helped a great deal. It certainly doesn't hurt to have someone who's done a conference before (in our chapter, we have one person who had put on 6 international conferences (me) and another with pretty extensive experience negotiating contracts and that was a HUGE help).

And yes, the big nightmare is the up-front commitment - I think we're on the hook for something like $185K if no one shows up in 2009. But none of that is up-front money, and unless literally NOBODY comes, we will not have a problem. Most of that cost is showroom rental fees -- we get the convention center for free if we fill up the required number of "room nights" (ie, x rooms for y nights). So, if you are careful about the number of rooms you commit to fill, you can be fine. In our case in 97, we committed for something like 1200 room nights (essentially 300 rooms for 4 nights) in 97, and actually ended up filling ~1650 room nights, not including those guys who didn't register through the convention hotels. Depending on how well you negotiate, you can get comp rooms, and other free services if you do it right.

National certainly CAN help with the negotiations, but the chapters considering a bid need to get in touch with the 2nd VP (coincidentally, Ron Bell, one of

our Chapter Members) BEFORE putting together a bid, and he can help you get it all set up, advise you on negotiating, etc. I think we spent 2 years planning,

including a year before we made our first bid. Ron was our convention chairman in 97, and I *know* he's always willing to assist, and willing to listen to new ideas.

But yes, it *IS* a huge risk that the local chapter is responsible for, and if they overcommit, or if attendance drops severely from past conventions, it would be a real nightmare scenario. Many chapters won't want to even think about taking that kind of a risk.

So, I think a lot of times the same chapters do the conventions because they have experience, and are comfortable with the risk, and their venue partners are at least somewhat easy to work with. I would imagine it's MUCH harder for Va Beach than for us, because they probably have a lot of other demand for those hotels, so it's not as easy to negotiate, though Columbus is a big convention site, but we don't have the "vacation draw" that Va Beach does, for example.

Fortunately for us, we're easy driving distance from 1/2 of the US population, and relatively inexpensive as large venue's go.

The room-night commitment is why the conventions push you to go to the convention hotel... if everybody came, but stayed in non-convention hotels, you could have a "wildly successful" convention, that lost it's shirt. That is a big problem, and something that IPMS will have to address somehow.

As for "profit's" supporting future bids, not gonna happen... I think (don't remember now for sure) the profit for the 97 convention was around $10K, with

IPMS getting $5K, and our chapter $5K. That's not even close to enough to fund another convention. It's nice to have, though we donated almost all of our profits to local deserving charities.

Don: If you want to be involved in a Nationals, drop me a line and I'll put you to work on the 2009 team - I've always got room for more volunteers.

-Scott Sharkey

IPMS Eddie Rickenbacker

Home of the 2009 IPMS National Convention

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Hey Scott,

Trouble is for us here in Cincy we've no history with a major hotel/center, so they want money up front. I have scouted 2 prime spots here.

You know whats funny, ever been to Roberts Center in Wilmington?? Major size convention center in the middle of nowhere...if there was any kind of airport that could be used it would be prefect for a Nats center wise....no hotel rooms but a major convention center in the middle of cornfield county :rolleyes:

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Hey Scott,

Trouble is for us here in Cincy we've no history with a major hotel/center, so they want money up front. I have scouted 2 prime spots here.

You know whats funny, ever been to Roberts Center in Wilmington?? Major size convention center in the middle of nowhere...if there was any kind of airport that could be used it would be prefect for a Nats center wise....no hotel rooms but a major convention center in the middle of cornfield county :thumbsup:

Interesting... we had no history when we made the deal for 97, and didn't need up front money. Just a letter from Nationals and a "history" that showed

average attendance in the midwest shows over the years. Maybe Cincy is different?

I've driven by the Roberts Center - never figured out how it got built. Someone must be using it, but I can't for the life of me figure out who.

-Scott

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Interesting... we had no history when we made the deal for 97, and didn't need up front money. Just a letter from Nationals and a "history" that showed

average attendance in the midwest shows over the years. Maybe Cincy is different?

I've driven by the Roberts Center - never figured out how it got built. Someone must be using it, but I can't for the life of me figure out who.

-Scott

I think part of the trouble here is we get some major conventions and its a different setup...like I said, i've no experiance with stuff like that and no one on my show crew has done it either.

The guy who owns that big trucking outfit across the street from Roberts Center built it. He wanted a place like that and can write it off on taxes I guess...must be nice to have money :thumbsup:

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  • 1 month later...

Wayne,

Sorry - just got on the site, but I'm registration chairman for Columbus. The venue is the Greater Columbus Convention Center, hotel is the

Hyatt Regency at 350 N High Street. Our web site will be up August 10th (after I get back from Va Beach) at www.ipmsusa2009.org. Nothing

there yet, though. We look forward to seeing you in 09 in Columbus.

-Scott

Colin,

That is the answer that I got on another thread.

Wayne

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It's a tough sell due to the expense of the convention centers in that part of the world - plus you've put the convention in an area that's harder for the rest of the country to get too. It's more and more likely that the nationals will need to be in a large hub city going forward, as the proposition for local hosts to run this in smaller cities get's scarier by the year. I've got an idea of who might be involved in 2011, but that's a LONG way off...

Anxious to get more news about Columbus, and to start focusing on the next show!

Paul

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