Super Boat Expo 2006 has been cancelled
 

This artical is from Tradeonly Magazine


No money, no show


Super Boat Expo 2006 has been cancelled. The show was scheduled to open in five weeks, but president Bob Black cited the lack of financial commitments from exhibitors as the reason for the cancellation.



“While we had enough promises of, ‘We’ll be there,’ and ‘high interest’ to fill the convention center, we had very few contracts and deposits in the boat area,” Black said in a letter to “industry friends.”



As of this morning, Black said he’d heard from a few people who were sorry to hear the show had been cancelled. One dealer told Black he’d planned to be there, but a lack of cash flow slowed him from getting a deposit to show organizers.



Black said he has not abandoned his plans to hold such a show in the future, possibly in a different venue.



The expo, which was to have featured high-performance boats, was scheduled to run March 31 through April 2 at the Sarasota/Bradenton Convention Center. It had originally been set for late May, but was pushed back to avoid a conflict with two offshore races.



Black said booth space did well, but “we couldn’t put a high-performance boat show on with promises from the boat companies and dealers.”



Black said he planned to return 100 percent of all deposits received.



While he would not go into detail on the finances, Black said he did not have the nearly $40,000 he would have needed for the rental of the convention center.



Part of the problem, Black said, was he and his staff viewed the show as one where the manufacturers would be involved. But the boatbuilders, for the most part, felt the local dealerships should make the decisions on participation.



Black said many dealers have not had a great year, possibly because of a fallout from the hurricanes.