RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show 20qy

I doubt something as grand or large as the NEC is needed.  By exhib hall standards Alli Palli is tiny anyway.  I would guess a college sports hall or a county show ground would have capacity enough, the main issue might be parking.

Show grounds tend to have minimal facilities, be unheated and parking on grass. Mix that with a March show and it doesn't work.

Sports centres... Some of us remember those days. Happy amateur days if you like. Demands a bit more from C As to get a stand together, and used to end up with the show fragmented round different halls, it was pretty rubbish if you got pushed off to the outer darkness.
I fear that the extra work might be a struggle for some classes these days in which money seems easier to find than volunteer effort.

On the other hand there was much to like about those days but whether they'd match with today's spectator mentality. Not sure.

Originally posted by getafix I doubt something as grand or large as the NEC is needed.  By exhib hall standards Alli Palli is tiny anyway.  I would guess a college sports hall or a county show ground would have capacity enough, the main issue might be parking.

The reason believe it or not the dinghy show is at the current venue is probably down to me, it's a long story but if we're ever in a bar together I'd happily recount it, but at the time Ally Pally was far cheaper than the NEC and London and SE centric attracts more folk than the NEC unless it's to do with cars and or beer.

Most 'active lifestyle' shows do better in and around London, take the Ski show as another example, the London Show rocks the midlands shows suck, from an exhibitor viewpoint and Northern editions of southern shows are normally loss making for the bigger exhibitors, although at retail level they get use to dump stock and turn some money over off season.

As to other venues we used to go to a trade event at Telford where there were just about enough hotel beds to cope, and it wasn't too pricey and you had Iron bridge nearby in which you could stay, that might work. Then there was another surf show held down in Exeter that wasn't too expensive to run could also work and there was a place just outside Bath that we used to exhibit at, also not to pricey, but and here's the rub, none of these were public shows, most were trade events where folk had to go for commercial gain, I doubt you'd get classes trucking all over the UK.

Originally posted by iGRF The reason believe it or not the dinghy show is at the current venue is probably down to me, it's a long story but if we're ever in a bar together I'd happily recount it, but at the time Ally Pally was far cheaper than the NEC and London and SE centric attracts more folk than the NEC unless it's to do with cars and or beer. Most 'active lifestyle' shows do better in and around London, take the Ski show as another example, the London Show rocks the midlands shows suck, from an exhibitor viewpoint and Northern editions of southern shows are normally loss making for the bigger exhibitors, although at retail level they get use to dump stock and turn some money over off season. As to other venues we used to go to a trade event at Telford where there were just about enough hotel beds to cope, and it wasn't too pricey and you had Iron bridge nearby in which you could stay, that might work. Then there was another surf show held down in Exeter that wasn't too expensive to run could also work and there was a place just outside Bath that we used to exhibit at, also not to pricey, but and here's the rub, none of these were public shows, most were trade events where folk had to go for commercial gain, I doubt you'd get classes trucking all over the UK.

http://westpointexeter.co.uk/
Westpoint Exeter - Very doable, plenty of room and just off M5, rail only to center of Exeter so would have to run buses (not ideal), loads of car parking though.

http://www.bathandwest.com/
Bath and West Showground - Non starter, difficult access, not enough covered room and parking on the grass in March is bad news.