Outdoor Retailer and Snow Show
02 Jun 2018
Move Gives Boulder County Businesses a Boost
By Julie Kailus One of Colorado’s biggest economic coups—nabbing the country’s Outdoor Retailer show—gave a boost to Boulder County businesses that cater to the adventure crowd. Outdoor Retailer (OR), the industry’s largest and most respected business event, had been held in Salt Lake City for the past 20 years—until last year, when Utah officials lobbied to reduce public land. The Trump administration announced plans to reduce Bears Ears by 85 percent and cut Grand Staircase Monument in half, opening once-protected lands to oil, gas and mining. The outdoor community was angered and prominent outdoor brands like Black Diamond and Patagonia called for OR to boycott Utah. Colorado was a natural for the show’s new digs, because it is a hub for outdoor enthusiasts—an outlook that is also good for the economy. Amy Roberts, executive director of the Boulder-based Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), references a comment by Gov. Hickenlooper about a bad Broncos season being bad for business, because fan turnout would be low. “It is not much of a stretch to make a similar comparison,” she says. “If our public lands were significantly reduced in Colorado or access to your favorite recreation area was denied, it would have a devastating impact on not just Colorado’s economy, but our way of life.” Outdoor recreation is big business. It generates $887 billion in annual consumer spending, of which $28 billion is spent in Colorado. The outdoor recreation industry creates 229,000 direct jobs and $2 billion in state and local tax revenue annually, according to the OIA, which partners with event owner Emerald Expositions to facilitate OR’s three annual shows. OR’s move was expected to bring $110 million to Denver’s economy alone.The Colorado Conversation
The first order of business was to rename the show Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show, because it combined with Denver’s existing SnowSports Industries America’s Snow Show. The huge buildup to the Colorado launch paid off; it was the largest event ever staged at Colorado Convention Center. The show brought in more than 29,000 total attendees and more than 7,500 legit retail buyers from 60 countries.