The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) has awarded a $2.66 million grant to Visit Salt Lake in a bid to keep the Outdoor Retailer (OR) show in Salt Lake City beyond 2014, the Salt Lake Tribune reported last week.
Visit Salt Lake, formerly known as the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, would use the grant to erect a massive, air-conditioned tent needed to house OR Summer Market exhibitors that could not be accommodated in the sold-out 670,000-square-foot Salt Lake Palace Convention Center the last two years.
Or show executives will make an announcement regarding the show’s plans beyond 2014 at the All Mountain Demo Jan. 22, on the eve of Outdoor Retailer Winter Market, OR Show Director Kenji Haroutunian confirmed via e-mail Thursday.
OR launched a survey last year to determine whether exhibitors and attendees wanted to keep the show in Salt Lake City beyond 2014 when ORs contract with the city expires. A majority of respondents appear to have favored keeping the show in Salt Lake City despite complaints that it lacks the hotel rooms, taxis and other amenities needed to accommodate such a large influx of people. OR Summer Market drew an estimated 26,000 people and $25 million in extra spending to Salt Lake City last year, according to GOED estimates cited by the Salt Lake Tribune.
