Will trade shows leave S.L.?

Members of the Outdoor Industry Association are reiterating their threat to move Utah's two largest trade shows to another location, but the folks that actually own the Outdoor Retailer show are distancing themselves from such speculation.

Lori Crabtree, a spokeswoman for Outdoor Retailer, said it is important to note that the association and the show are two different entities.

The show is owned and managed by Virginia-based VNU Expositions Inc., whose parent company, VNU, is a research and media conglomeration based in The Netherlands that reported more than $5 billion in sales in 2002.

"The OR show right now obviously wants to listen to the association because it represents their customers and their clients and what their needs are, but the association does not run the show," Crabtree said.

In May, the Outdoor Industry Association suggested that the semiannual trade show should be moved because of a deal struck in April by Gov. Mike Leavitt and Interior Secretary Gale Norton. The agreement removed interim protections to potential wilderness areas identified in Utah after 1991. In turn, Utah dropped a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior.

The association's board of directors is meeting this week, in conjunction with the summer market show, to discuss the controversy and to make a recommendation to Outdoor Retailer as to whether it should pursue alternative locations for shows beginning in the summer of 2005.

Frank Hugelmeyer, president of the association, said in a prepared statement this week that it had been actively working with Leavitt over the past three months in addressing the industry's concerns.

"However, it is still to be seen whether Gov. Leavitt will truly become a public lands and outdoor recreation steward. Actions speak louder than words," Hugelmeyer said.

Yet should Leavitt be confirmed as director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, he will have little say over public lands, which are not managed by EPA.

Politics aside, Crabtree said VNU Expositions Inc. is not comfortable discussing any notions of moving the show.

"They have contracts several years out, to 2005, and verbal agreements beyond that," she said. "Any rumors that are floating around about that, it's just not accurate."

The summer show, which runs today through Sunday at the Salt Palace, is expected to attract roughly 17,000 retailers, manufacturers and media. The winter show attracts about 15,000 people.