Convention Insider (Conventions.net)

I had a short trip out to Chicago on Saturday to speak at a social media event.  If you were paying attention with last week’s post you could have followed along with the hashtag #wcchicago.  They event was well attended nearly doubling the size of the attendees year over year.  They moved the event this year to The Chicago Merchandise Mart.

The facility was  very ominous as it sits on on the river in downtown Chicago.  The facility is described on their site.

The Merchandise Mart is the world’s largest commercial building, largest wholesale design center and one of Chicago’s premier international business locations. Encompassing 4.2 million gross square feet, The Mart spans two city blocks and rises 25 stories.

The Merchandise Mart became the world’s largest LEED-EB (Leadership in Energy and Environmental and Design for Existing Buildings) certified building in November 2007. LEED ^® certification is the nationally accepted bench mark for design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings and is awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Today, The Merchandise Mart welcomes more than three million visitors each year to its retail shops, LuxeHome^® boutiques, 11 floors of permanent showrooms for gift, residential, casual and contract furnishings, 10 floors of office space, dozens of trade shows and a myriad of special educational, community and consumer events.

The epicenter for high design and luxury goods, The Merchandise Mart is located in the heart of a city that is home to prestigious fine art institutions, world-class museums, award-winning architecture, professional entertainment venues and diverse restaurant offerings.  The Merchandise Mart is a short, leisurely walk to the famous Magnificent Mile, where exclusive shops and four-star hotels bustle with activity from the Tribune Tower to North Avenue Beach.  Also nearby is Millennium Park, Chicago’s newest architectural landmark featuring celebrated public art works and breathtaking views of both the lakefront and the skyline.

Interesting to note that the downtown district where the event was held was nearly empty.  many of the shops that are in and around the area were closed on Sunday and not many people frequent the area.  It seems that on Sunday on Chicago at this trade show and convention center they pull in the sidewalks.  I would suggest if you are4 looking to have your event at the Chicago Merchandise Mart it would be a good facility to have an event during the week.  The building is a very nice jewel in the heart of Chicago and is a LEED’s certified building which the display prominently.  I recommend the Great Grey Lady.  After all, how many facilities out there are LEED certified and have their own poem.

I am headed out to Chicago this weekend to speak at a social media industry event.  I was curious what is going on in the Chicago area and their recent news about law changes and the McCormick Place Conventions Center.  I saw a news item flash across Twitter and tracked down a story on the Meetings Industry Megasite about the latest in the law changes in Chicago.  The legislature had passed a law making the convention industry more competitive in Chicago and the Governor let it sit on his desk until he was forced to make a decision.  The bill was vetoed and later last week, the legislature voted to overturn the veto.  The law was passed and now Chicago is more competitive as a result.  I think the economy is making a number of the convention centers and other to take a look at the bottom line and searching ways to be more competitive.

There were many associations that had threatened to move their events from Chicago because the center was not competitive and in response to that they needed to make some changes.  Some of the listed changes that were made include:

• Establishes new labor work rules that reduce crew sizes and require less overtime pay.

• Expands exhibitor rights, allowing customers to do their own work, regardless of booth size.

• Appoints a trustee—Reilly—to oversee McCormick Place operations during an 18-month transition period and choose a private manager for the facility.

• Restructures MPEA’s capital debt, which will allow it to further lower costs for customers.

• Allows shows to select outside electrical and foodservice contractors.

• Calls for auditing contracts to ensure savings are passed on to customers.

I think these are some areas that will be looked at by a number of facilities and certainly other convention and visitor bureaus are going to be watching closely at how the new law changes put into place in Chicago are going to change their own proposals.  This is also going to help the third party vendors and suppliers to compete in a market where they may have been locked out.