Two weeks to go: What’s new for Summer Market 2013

Later this week, show attendees will begin receiving their copy of the O.R. Daily Day 0 preview edition in the mail, along with the digital edition being posted on SNEWS, full of show coverage, new products, gear trend previews and exhibitor listings.

While Outdoor Retailer is staying put in Salt Lake City through 2016, there are still changes to be aware of heading into Summer Market 2013, including the last-minute Open Air Demo venue change (not reflected in the Day 0 printed copy), new events and other logistics.

Demo day venue change
Poor and unusable water levels” at Lake Jordanelle has forced Outdoor Retailer to change the local of its Open Air Demo to the Port Ramp Marina Pineview Reservoir.

Officials said the last-minute change was needed to ensure a successful event. The water levels at Lake Jordanelle have dropped to less than 68 percent capacity — 75 percent is considered functional — and is dropping an average of 1 percent per week from evaporation.

Pineview last hosted the Open Air Demo in 2009, and while water levels there are also low this year, the lack of water at Pineview “reveals gently sloping sand beaches, whereas low water at Jordanelle reveals sharply included rocky beaches,” officials said.

The date and time of the Demo remains the same — Tuesday, July 30, 2013, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. — and Outdoor Retailer will have shuttles running to the event from the Salt Palace. Officials said all Demo freight shipped to the advance warehouse will be delivered to Pineview. Exhibitors will be updated on their location at Pineview and receive a service kit.

It takes approximately 45 minutes to drive to Pineview from downtown Salt Lake City, officials said. Road construction on the route, which created delays in 2009, is now complete.

For future shows, officials said they will keep the Demo Day venue dependent on how water levels look in the late spring/early summer. “We will make Lake Jordanelle our high-water option and Pineview Reservoir our low option.”

Click here for more information from Outdoor Retailer.

Earlier show dates
Show officials deemed Winter Market’s new schedule — where everything starts and finishes a day earlier in the week — a success, and decided to shift the dates for Summer Market and all future shows as well. The change helps spread out the crowds over four days, and lets attendees return to their shops and families for at least part of the weekend, or spend time in the Utah outdoors.

So take note: Demo Day takes place on Tuesday, and the trade show runs Wednesday through Saturday.

Rail service to/from SLC Airport
The new TRAX commuter rail service is now open between the Salt Lake International Airport and downtown (see map, page 62). You can find more detailed stop information, maps and updated schedules via the links to the right, but here’s your cheat sheet upon exiting the airport:

• Follow the directional signs to the TRAX stop. From the airport, there is only one line (The Green Line – 704) heading in one direction (toward Downtown and West Valley).
• A one-way fare costs $2.50 (which includes free transfers) and can be purchased at the station before boarding the train.
• Once on the Green Line, you can transfer to the FrontRunner Line – 750 at the North Temple/Guadalupe Station; the Blue Line – 701 at the Arena Station; or the Red Line – 703 at the Courthouse Station depending on your hotel location or destination.
• If you want to head directly to the Salt Palace, you can stay on the Green Line and get off at the Temple Square Station.
• To return to the airport, backtrack any transfers to the Green Line and board the train toward the Airport Station, which is the last stop.

For more information at the show, pick up Outdoor Retailer’s Official Transportation Guide — packed with maps and routes — and check out these links below for the most up-to-date schedules:

• Green Line-704
• Red Line – 703
• Blue Line – 701
• FrontRunner – 750

The Pavilions @ OR
Outdoor Retailer ismoving some of its up-and-coming zones and exhibition areas — focusing on the brand stories of SUP, yoga and fly fishing — to The Pavilions @ OR, across the street from the Salt Palace’s north entrance. The Pavilions will host more than 350 brands — including big names like Lolë, Redington and Puma —and feature a festival of events, education and demos at the all-new Casting Pond, the SUP Tank, the Boulder, and in the Street Scene. Within The Pavilions @ OR, be sure to also check out the New Product Lounge, a digital experience that brings new products from across the show floor into a digital catalog.

Industrial Design Showcase
For five years, the 48-hour, apparel design contest Project OR has been the focal point of the Design Center at Outdoor Retailer. This Summer Market, hardgoods will take center stage with a showcase of how technology works for design in the outdoor industry. Project OR will remain a staple at Winter Market.

New housing system
There are cheers and jeers for the new housing system at Outdoor Retailer, but overall the goal is to get the show’s most important assets — retailers, reps, media and exhibitors — closer to the action surrounding the Salt Palace. By now, you’re likely set for Summer Market, but soon it will be time to get ready for Winter Market. Unlike in the past, where hotel reservations were taken a year out from the show, it’s now four months before the show when organizers open the system and tie it to registration. Be on the lookout for future communications in late July or early August.

New owner, new name, familiar faces
Earlier this spring, Outdoor Retailer and about 65 other trade shows and conferences previously owned by Nielsen were sold to Canadian private-equity firm Onex Corp. for $950 million. The new owners have renamed the business to Emerald Expositions, and for now, that’s the biggest change showgoers will see. The overall leadership of CEO David Loechner remains in place, as does Outdoor Retailer Show Director Kenji Haroutunian. The show’s contracts with the Outdoor Industry Association and Salt Lake City are unaffected.

–David Clucas