Bicycle trade show to leave Utah, follow Outdoor Retailer's lead
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The North American Handmade Bicycle Show will leave Salt Lake City after its convention next week.
Patagonia was the first domino, setting off a chain reaction of brands announcing whether they would continue to exhibit at Outdoor Retailer.
The latest is a newer voice to the outdoor industry’s skirmishes with the state of Utah: The North American Handmade Bicycle Show, which said Tuesday that Gov. Gary Herbert had launched an “assault” on public lands that it could not support.
The show is in its 13th year and will be hosted at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City the first weekend of March. It will be first and last time it is held in Utah, unless its government makes substantial changes to its stance on federal ownership and management of public lands.
Last year, NAHBS hosted 180 brands and 8,000 attendees. It expects to be even bigger this year.
“When we were negotiating the show, Governor Herbert hadn’t begun his assault on public lands,” NAHBS Founder Don Walker said in the press release. “His agenda for the state of Utah has the ability to curtail the recreation of our exhibitors and their customers. If not for signed contracts, booked airfares, hotels and the builders depending on the show taking place, we too would be relocating. Our goal is to spotlight frame builders and the cycling industry partners that support them. NAHBS moves the location each year to accommodate the needs of builders across the country. Regardless of our schedule, we would not chose to bring the show back to Utah unless serious changes are made by government officials.”
Related: What do Salt Lake City residents think about the move? We asked people who work near the Salt Palace.
