"GenCon might be moving from Indianapolis" Topic

The market is speaking.

link

They might be outgrowing the Indiana Convention Center and this might give them a smug reason for leaving other than "we are bigger than you"

If they wanted to stay Midwest, the could double their space in Chicago or move to larger venues on the East and West coasts.

I'd not heard about the measure in IN.

I'm thinking Mr. Elmo is correct, though. Don't suppose KC would be an option…

Doug

>The market is speaking

The market isn't speaking, the CEO of Gencon is speaking. I'd rather he just shut up and run the convention instead of grandstanding on regional politics. Considering Gencon is contractually obligated to hold the convention in Indianapolis until 2020 I'd say there is little bite behind their threat to leave.

Interesting. I haven't seen the details of the bill to know to what degree it would actually affect GenCon's operations. However, whether it's a real imperative or just an easy reason to move on, it's not surprising and probably a good move for them. GenCon is certainly an organization that is very embracing of diversity and moving based on a gay-rights issue is certainly a choice that will put them in good stead with their core constituency.

Whether it's social issues, tax issues or something else, If a CEO or any group feels that their location is sponsorship of a given policy, government, etc that they don't agree with then moving your business is a very powerful way to make your views known.

Vote with your feet as they say.

And it's a she, not a he. I agree with Double W.

Of course, if you don't like the reasoning behind her letter or don't agree with it, fine, then think of it in purely economic terms. GENCON attracts MANY attendees from the LGT communities, and if they feel like they are attending in a hostile environment, or simply decide to make their own stand on principle, THEY are in danger of voting with their feet, and that impacts GENCON's bottom line, too.

Of course, if the decision is five years away it won't have a lot of teeth in it-- !

V/R

Walt

I'm not taking a stand on the particulars of the law in this thread (TMP+politics=don't mix), but I wonder if the passing of the law could work both ways.

If Indiana businesses can not do business with people based on religious objections, can Gencon not do business with Indiana and it's businesses for the same?

yawn

This really, really should move to the Fez, however,

I'm not a Constitutional lawyer, but I play one on tv.

I am all against discrimination The problem we have in this country is that certain minority groups are just plain louder than others. The majority needs to stand up for itself. What happened to the fact that people voted on these laws for the most part, that means that the majority of people want things a certain way. Sorry but the notion of one person one vote is what this country is founded on. Some people seem to think this is not the case ,just because they want to life their life in a certain way they think everyone should accept it.

Ugh, I hate internet debates; everybody talks AT each other.

So all I have to say is I hope the convention moves to Kansas City or Minneapolis, both of which are equidistant from where I live, and are within easy driving distance.

Good for GenCon.

Being here in Indy, I can say that most people think that this is a waste of time. Both sides need to get a grip.

Also, Gencon is contractually obligated to be here until 2020…after that is anyones guess however Mr. Elmo said:

If they wanted to stay Midwest, the could double their space in Chicago or move to larger venues on the East and West coasts.

Technically speaking yes they could, but they wouldn't be able to afford it.
This has been discussed numerous times on the Gencon sites….They cannot afford the rates for conventions centers in Chicago, (union labor), or the costs for East Coast/West Coast. Don't forget the colossal failure that was "Gencon So-Cal"….

Gencon wants to remain in the midwest and currently Indianapolis is the best place to hold it. Sure go ahead and say you want it in Chicago…just add another 100 -150 bucks to your ticket…as well as 150 bucks a night for your hotel room….

Peaking around, it appears $50 USD million is kind of ho-hum for economic gain (see NRA and much smaller medical conventions).

Fity mill EVERY YEAR might make some pause.

Where does GenCon go to move to the NEXT LEVEL (tm)?

Contracts can be broken. It's not that hard if someone wants out.

If they want to stay in the Midwest and need a bigger location Chicago is the logical choice. While accommodations may be a little more, travel from all over the country by air is cheaper and more convenient than going to Indy so that may be a wash. Not to mention their are considerably more things to do in and around Chicago. Also better public transportation system. I'm no Chicago fanboy, but if you took the names off the cities and compared them side by side they don't really compare.

As for the CEO taking a stand, as Walt says the LGT community is a good size demographic in their pie. Even if nothing happens she has to speak up or risk alienating a large group of customers.

I do know the Horticultural Hall in Lake Geneva is still available. You could fit at least a dozen vendors and a few hundred gamers in there if you want to go retro. Or even UW-Parkside, which now has a large campus including several dorms.

Viscount Eric….Not sure how you think that 50 million is "ho-hum", but yes it is 50 million EVERY YEAR….

Think about that….

Doctor X…the problem you have with Gencon moving to Chicago…are two things…

#1: They have already said that Chicago would be 3-5 times MORE expensive than Indy….

and #2 being is that well..see…Illinois already has the same type of law in effect as what we are talking about here…so Gencon essentially wouldn't be doing anyone any favors….

Murphy 50 mil is a lot of humvee's…

Political discussion must adjourn to our sister site, The Blue Fez.

Almost 57,000 attendees last year, that's a chunk of change being spent.

I was talking with a friend about this last night. The other major problem with Chicago is that you would have to hold it in McCormick Place which is certainly large enough, but like Murphy says it is very expensive to hold events there due to union restrictions and costs.

The other problem with McCormick Place is that there is ONE hotel attached. With all the complaints that Gen Con has been getting from people about not being able to book downtown rooms through their block, moving to Chicago makes that situation MUCH worse. 1200 rooms total in easy walking distance (walking distance while carrying all of your books, armies, and other purchases)

I think they are exaggerating the price increase.
I just did a price check between
Gencon and Wizard World
4 days admission plus Hotel for both
Gen Con 700 and that does not include gaming costs(Crappy mid range Hotels)
Wizard World 650 and that is at the Hyatt on site.
So if they are claiming that much of a bump then I want to know how much the people running the show are making?
You also in Chicago have a Mayor who is activly making deals to get the tourist money. I mean he canceled a parade that was a 50 year old tradition to get the NFL draft that is paying basically nothing except hotel and tourist dollars.

Noble, Chicago is more than just the downtown. Plus they just built a L line stop 3 blocks from McCormick. You have sites all over the place to hold it.
Plus one of the nicest and largest youth Hostels in the country is right on the L line to McCormick(10 min) or O Hare (35-40 min). You have a real night life for all tastes and price ranges.

The article states that Illinois already has a similar law. If so, moving to Chicago would kind of defeat the point.

Tempest in a teapot, if you ask me.

I just wonder what happen to the old adage" We refuse the right to service anyone"

Parzival, you are correct….

Um I live in Illinois. The reception Hall I mentioned was in Illinois. If there is law like that then it is very recent.
SO by this logic there can be no specialty stores. No Kosher delis, no vegan restaurants, etc because they are exclusionary.

Wow, this thread looks like a letter home during WW2 after the censors got their hands on it. If a post has SNIP! on it, does that mean there was some political content that wasn't acceptable?

I just did some research on what the "Blue Fez" is and I can't post to it due to web filters. Fair enough!

I'm out!

Walt

I would be over joyed if it moved closer to me, then I might actually be able to go for once in my life.

I see a lot more deleted comments coming in this thread. :)

Love to discuss this, but I'm not a member of the blue fez.

Just a reminder that you are all welcome to debate civil rights on our sister website, The Blue Fez.

Well, if they don't like indiana, they damn sure won't like Kansas.

Just a reminder that you are all welcome to debate civil rights on our sister website, The Blue Fez.

You are not yet approved for membership. :D So how does that work exactly? Thanks.

Move to the west coast. Better music, better beer and people can actually find it on a map :)

Besides, GenCon is a strong RPG presence and the west coast is the "RPG coast".

Funny that civil rights can't be discussed here, but all manner of other politics are allowed.

I say good for GenCon. The only way this kind of nonsense will ever stop in this country is if businesses say no to it.

It doesn't even have to be left of center. My last deleted posts quoted US laws and Supreme Court decisions, with no further commentary. No personal attacks, no politics, no religion, just the law of the land.

Oh, well, at least Bill didn't DH me.

It's kind of hard to discuss this if we can't even mention the law of the land, particularly since this is an explicitly political move influencing one of the largest events in the gaming industry.

No response to the numbers I posted. As I said, Wizard world pulls in about the same numbers as Gen Con. If they have to jack up the price that much just for admission then I would think someone is making a ton of money off of it. Is the company that runs it a publicly traded? If so would be interesting to look at the books.

I saw your numbers but I guess I'm not sure what you are getting at?

GenCon is presumably charging what the market will bear.

In the end, whether GenCon is more or less expensive than another convention does not really bear any impact on whether GenCon should move to a state that better reflects the views of the organization.

SCOTUS is left of center? That is highly debateable.

But I won't debate it here. :D

Kyote means in certain circles.

There is better beer in Boston.

There are more convention sites than just McCormick Place. Rosemont comes to mind – used to work there. It is much cheaper and much nicer than McCormick, is only a few minutes from O'Hare Airport by train, taxi or rental car and has something like 15,000 hotel rooms, many if not most within walking distance of the Convention Center. The biggest problem with Rosemont is that there aren't many restaurants within a reasonable distance unless you have a car or take a taxi (except for the hotel restaurants and the Convention Center cafeteria).