Comdex security vastly boosted

Kevin Ferguson

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2001 | 10:53 a.m.

Conventioneers at Las Vegas' giant Comdex computer trade show in two weeks can expect something dramatically different this year. They'll see long lines at convention entrances and beefed up security precautions, such as bomb sniffing dogs and metal detectors, organizers announced Tuesday.

Similar security measures will be in effect at the 2002 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Jan. 8-11, the Consumer Electronics Association said today.

The annual CES trade show typically draws more than 100,000 visitors to Las Vegas.

General Comdex attendees -- those who are not analysts or journalists -- will not be allowed to take bags and briefcases into the Las Vegas Convention Center during the Nov. 11-16 trade show, said Kim Mhyre, president of Comdex Worldwide.

Some exceptions will be made for women's purses, Mhyre said.

Also, cars and taxis will not be permitted within a certain perimeter of the Convention Center during Comdex, Mhyre said.

Details of the no-car-zone around the convention center and providing alternative routes were still being worked out Tuesday, said Fred Rosen, chairman and chief executive of Key3Media Group, the firm that runs Comdex.

These security measures are dramatically different from past Comdex shows, where long lines of cabs queued at the convention center entrances, and trade show visitors armed with briefcases and bulging handout bags roamed in and out of exhibit hall doors.

Not letting cars or cabs near the convention center during this year's show will cause problems for an area that is typically badly congested anyway during Comdex week, said Chief Bob Flaven of the Nevada Taxicab Authority.

Since exhibitors may be giving away bags of promotional items and material, Comdex officials said prohibiting bags at the show may cause problems for those who briefly leave the premises or go outside to smoke.

"What we've done in the last 72 or 96 hours is create the main security measures and we are working on (refining) those procedures," Rosen said.

Rosen said his company is working on accommodating smokers.

He said there will not be an area for visitors to check their bags at the conference door and pick them up at the end of the day.

"These are difficult times, and we are trying to address all these issues," Rosen said. "If you get a bag (at the show), and it's the end of the day, you go home. We're trying to make this like security at the ballparks."

Visitors to the trade show are being advised to carry a driver's license or a passport.

These extraordinary precautions are being taken by Comdex in conjunction with Metro police because of the national concern about potential terrorist attacks, Comdex and local law enforcement officials said.

"There have been no specific (terrorist) threats, but if you take into consideration the FBI's warning for the nation to be on a heightened state-of-alert for the next seven to 10 days, that period will be ending around the start of Comdex," said Las Vegas police Lt. Vincent Cannito.

Comdex officials say they were working on these security procedures prior to the FBI's latest terrorism warning this week. The trade show organizers have hired a security consulting firm to advise them on these procedures.

Cannito said police will be ready to deploy its bomb sniffing dogs around the trade show if security measures call for it.

Comdex visitors will be allowed to carry cell phones and other small digital devices, like PDAs, Mhyre said.

Since media members and analysts may need notepads, cell phones, laptop computers and other items for their job, they will be permitted to carry bags.

Cannito said Metro's 18-member Tourism Safety Unit will be collaborating with security officers from various casinos, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Key3Media.

Comdex, the biggest annual trade show in Las Vegas, is expected to see about a 25 percent drop in attendance compared to last year. But Mhyre attributed most of that drop to the slumping technology industry, which was ailing well before the Sept. 11 terror acts.

Mhyre said the company expects about 150,000 visitors, the smallest Comdex crowd since the early 1990s.

The trade show's attendance peaked in 1997 at about 220,000 visitors, Mhyre said. Last year's show drew about 210,000.

Because of the scaled down attendance, Comdex is consolidating most of the trade show into the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Unlike recent Comdex shows, no exhibits will be held at the Sands Expo Center, Mhyre said.

The show opens Sunday, Nov. 11, with Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates' keynote address at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Other keynote addresses will be in the Barron Room at the Las Vegas Hilton, which is adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center on Paradise Road.