Thursday, Dec. 23, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.
In the mid-1990s, the Comdex computer exhibition grew into the largest technological gathering North America had ever seen.
This year, Comdex fell off Las Vegas' convention calendar as organizers battled wobbly financial times in the industry and had to retreat in a bid to regain the magic of the past.
Perhaps for that reason, it's understandable that organizers of next month's International Consumer Electronics Show shy away from predictions of a record turnout. But Las Vegas meeting planners figure that CES has the potential of being the No. 2 or No. 3 best attended show the city plays to host in 2005.
March's ConExpo-Con/Agg event, a construction equipment show that appears in Las Vegas once every three years, is expected to be the largest convention of 2005 with 135,000 people in attendance.
"The fact that there was no Comdex this year could result in some demand" from attendees who in the past have had to choose between one show or the other, said Nancy Murphy, head of convention sales for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Last year, about 132,000 people turned out for the four-day CES. The Consumer Electronics Association, organizers of the show, had predicted 110,000 would come that year. This year, the CEA, which will open the show's doors on Jan. 6, is projecting attendance of 120,000.
Last year's event had an estimated nongaming economic impact of $150 million.
"We certainly don't want to focus on the size," said Tara Dunion, director of communications for the CEA and the CES show. "We had a great, successful show last year and what we really want to do this year is improve on the experience."
Part of that experience, she said, would be to head off potential problems before the doors open.
Among the biggest complaints from CES conventioneers last year were the long waits at McCarran International Airport. Dunion said the CEA is working with airport officials and the Transportation Security Administration to come up with ways to communicate with CES attendees before they reach the airport.
Many of the lines become unwieldy because of the high percentage of people who use laptop computers going through security lines.
"I understand that the airport has added some lanes at the security checkpoints and that there are videos shown to remind people about details of the process," Dunion said. "A lot of it is just education and experience. Don't go too early, but give yourself plenty of time to pass through security."
The Thursday opening is expected to be well attended, but Dunion said there could be a fresh wave of conventioneers driving from California on Saturday, "the ones who had to work Thursday and Friday." An appearance by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates as a Wednesday pre-show keynote address also is expected to be a huge draw.
Although Dunion is wary of predicting a big crowd, there are several indications that CES 2005 could have a record turnout.
Several consumer electronics sectors -- particularly those involving digital media -- have matured and are inspiring the manufacturers of spin-off products to enter the market.
"The digital camera is one of the biggest products on the market now," she said.
As a result, there are more photo software and storage products becoming available and new applications to use digital photography.
In addition to Murphy's observation that CES could benefit from Comdex's hiatus, LVCVA officials saw upticks in convention attendance throughout 2004 and early indications are that the trend would continue.
Las Vegas tourism is in a boom cycle and convention attendance is no different. Convention attendance is expected to get off to a rousing start in the first month of the year, with two of the top five shows of 2005 being staged at the Las Vegas Convention Center in January, with the World of Concrete show due in the middle of the month after CES has spun the turnstiles.
The estimated 2,440 exhibitors planning to show on 1.5 million square feet at CES will use multiple venues. In addition to all the halls being used at the Las Vegas Convention Center, temporary venues are being built in the center's parking lot. Booths also will be set up at the Las Vegas Hilton and high-performance sound products will be shown in the suites of the Alexis Park resort.
Keynote speakers like Gates, Intel's Craig Barrett and HP's Carly Fiorina will address crowds at the Las Vegas Hilton Theater and a CES digital media training program will use a brand-new venue, Marriott's Renaissance property at Desert Inn and Paradise roads.
Transportation between venues is always a concern for shows the size of CES, and Dunion said a fleet of buses would again transport conventioneers between their hotels and the Convention Center and between the Convention Center and the Alexis Park.
The Nevada Taxicab Authority is scheduled to meet next week to consider allowing cab companies to use the maximum number of vehicles in their fleets to accommodate CES attendees during the busiest times of the show.
Dunion said because the Las Vegas Monorail's operation was such a question mark there has been little marketing of the high-tech train as a transportation alternative for convention delegates.
"If it's running when we're in Las Vegas, I'm sure people will find it, but we didn't want to do a bait-and-switch (on the system) and then it not be running when people got here," she said.
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