This is a very interesting and unfortunate turn of events for SLC, SLCo, Ogden, and Utah. As someone very close to this situation, I can tell you this will have a very negative impact more so on SLC and SLCo. Many downtown businesses, mostly small businesses, rely on the revenue from OR. This will impact them greatly. From a marketing perspective, OR was a huge feather in our cap. We have a major perception issue nationwide, and this only hurts us further. The spin off from OR, such as business recruitment and retention, will take a big hit as well. Utah is lucky to have such a strong standing in the Outdoor Recreation economy, its a niche we are highly competitive in, and losing this show is a big blow to that. Colorado has been gunning for us for a few years and they just got a massive, massive win. Their Governor just spoke at SIA and strongly spoke about his commitment to public land protection, and the industry is listening. We will see an exodus of companies who feel strongly about the issue, and want to cluster around a like-minded business ecosystem. Amer Sports, parent of Arc Teryx who left the show early with Patagonia, is a lynch pin in Ogden's outdoor rec cluster. The industry is a huge pary of Ogden's fabric and losing them would be catastrophic to an already fragile city economy.
We just got a lot less cooler, and believe me folks, the future of our economy depends on talent wanting to live, work, build companies, create jobs, and invest in Utah. Our State government is being stubborn and politically short sighted. They view the outdoor rec community as a liberal nuisance and they don't think they need them. Oh how they are so wrong.
It is true that these bigger retailers are seeing less value in OR, everyone knows the show is time for the outdoor community to come together. A friend, equated it to the LDS General Conference. Its a time to renew your passion for the industry, spend time with friends, and enjoy Utah. The outdoor rec community is tight nit and unique. You see an amazing combination of art, film, music, entrepreneurism, tech, and manufacturing all mashed into one business sector. Smaller companies are able to sell product and still find value in the the show as well. It helps support small, emerging companies and technology, and promotes innovation.
This is a huge loss for Utah, and it will feel it for years to come as a GROWING $400 billion industry will avoid Utah on principal. I applaud the sentiment from OIA and its large corporate partners, its an important issue and its great to see industry stand up for what they believe in. But I do think the move is short sighted and will do more damage then good to SLC and SLCo. I'm hoping Herbert caves and we just move on, because OIA will not accept anything less than complete protection. While Utah will survive without the show, the collateral damage hurts our capital city and others, which our State government apparently could give two ****s about.