Market’s Fourth Building to Have Event Space, Gifts

Diane Taylor -- Tradeshow Week, 2/1/2008 2:38:00 PM

The third World Market Center building is scheduled for a grand opening at the Summer 2008 Las Vegas Market, “and we’ll be full,” said Shawn Samson, the center’s managing partner. And then? On Jan. 28, WMC officials announced they had received all city approvals for their fourth structure, Building D. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year and be finished by early 2010.

According to plans, the 1.1 million square foot Building D will connect seamlessly to Building C. Down will come the so-called pavilions, tents in the parking lot that have held temporary exhibits since the first Las Vegas Market in July 2005. Off-site exhibits that have been staged at just about every available convention center in town also likely will be a thing of the past, according to Samson. That’s because part of Building D will be flexible event space that can hold up to 150,000 square feet of temporary exhibits to collocate with the permanent showrooms.

“Having all our exhibitors in a single location is a definite plus,” Samson said. “Attendees will no longer have to be spending time on shuttle buses. Furthermore, finding alternate venues can be difficult. We were at MGM (Grand) this year. Three other locations we checked were already booked.”

With the completion of Building D, World Market Center will stand at more than 6 million square feet of permanent showrooms.

And what about the faltering U.S. economy, which economic analysts say hits discretionary spending (i.e., furniture) first? “This, too, shall pass,” Samson said. He added that, even with the housing downturn, attendance at last week’s Las Vegas Market equaled attendance of a year earlier – “a true test of World Market Center and the Las Vegas Market.”

Samson added that significant international marketing efforts and strategic international partnerships also resulted in an impressive 60-percent increase in international attendance. (Editor’s note: WMC management does not report exact or audited attendance figures at Las Vegas Market.)

As part of its future growth strategy, center management is moving some of its eggs to other baskets. Although Samson said, “our primary focus remains the furniture industry,” gifts and home textile companies are expected to occupy one third of the new building.

A press release on plans for Building D noted that its flex space would be available “to outside groups looking for a uniquely positioned venue.” However, Samson told TSW that, while it might be “possible” that Building D flex space would be made available to outsiders, “synergistic uses” for the flex space likely would be introduced by World Market Center itself.

His prediction for the fourth building? “We’re going to be full when we open.”

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