The Anaheim Convention Center is expanding its exhibit halls to 1 million square feet.
One big reason: its largest show— the Carlsbad-based National Association of Music Merchants taking place this week—already swallows all the exhibit space and another 200,000 square feet.
NAMM’s sheer size—96,000 attendees and 1,600 exhibitors spread over 813,000 square feet of exhibit halls—has been a work in progress for the past week or so, a process that will spill beyond the exhibit halls to fill:
n 52 meeting rooms encompassing 129,000 square feet;
n 28,000 square feet on the arena floor;
n and a 10,800-square-foot lobby.
That’s 981,000 square feet—for starters.
“There’s the Grand Plaza, as well,” said David Meek, convention center manager, pointing out the 36,000-square-foot area outside the convention center’s doors between the Hilton Anaheim and the Anaheim Marriott.
“They’re at the Marriott and Hilton, too,” he said.
The Hilton and Marriott combine for nearly 221,000 square feet of indoor meeting space (see List on page 18), and spokespersons for the two hotels said all of the space is taken up this week by the NAMM show.
“NAMM’s in every nook and cranny,” said Event Services Manager Michelle Henry, the center’s liaison with the show who “is here 17 days straight” for the event.
1 Million
The $180 million, bond-funded expansion scheduled to open mid-2017 adds 200,000 square feet and 1,350 parking spaces to the center, which is owned by Anaheim.
The project broke ground last April—driven in large measure by big shows including NAMM and Natural Products Expo West in March, which last year drew 71,000. The shows were considering other venues before the expansion, according to Anaheim City Council members and tourism group executives.
NAMM draws visitors from more than 100 countries, a spokesperson for the nonprofit said.
The 115-year-old show has been in Anaheim since 1978.
Meek said NAMM pays the convention center “close to $1 million” for its space, which it sells to exhibitors.
NAMM charges about $31 a square foot for booth space, according to its website. It said 1,600 companies representing 5,100 brands and 50 foreign countries would exhibit at the show and that about 20% are new to the event.
Local firms among those exhibiting include Yamaha Corp. in Buena Park, a maker of instruments and audiovisual products; Paiste America Inc. in Brea, which makes drums, cymbals and gongs; and QSC Audio Products LLC in Costa Mesa, whose product line includes amplifiers and loudspeakers.
Sound Effects
Yamaha, which bills itself as “the world’s largest musical instrument manufacturer,” has reserved 27,000 square feet at the Marriott for “more than 100 new products” and “artists and product experts” to demonstrate and discuss equipment.
“The focus is new products,” said Chief Marketing Officer Roger Eaton.
The company started using the Marriott about 10 years ago after many years in the convention center’s Hall C that included a guitar display. This year highlights a “premium piano room,” a spokesperson said.
“We view it as a dealer show, and I want to create an oasis” where clients and customers can “come have a cup of coffee,” Eaton said. “We didn’t want an overwhelming experience; we feel good about being at the Marriott.”
Costa Mesa-based QSC will be on the main floor in a 30-by-50-foot space displaying “power amps, power speakers, and mixers,” said Chelsea Farbolin, trade show and events manager. “Ours is a fairly large-size booth.”
Other OC companies exhibiting include Cathedral Pipes Microphones in Huntington Beach, according to NAMM.
With the Band
NAMM estimates that the annual show—the group also holds a summer version in Nashville each year—brings about $91 million in economic benefits for OC.
Anaheim resort area hotels are booked solid during NAMM, and those in other parts to OC also get business.
“NAMM uses hotels out to Irvine or Santa Ana,” said John Philipp, sales and marketing director for the 376-room Wyndham Anaheim Garden Grove Hotel.
Chad Ceretto, sales and marketing director for Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa, with 532 rooms across the street from Fashion Island, said many people who want to be near NAMM for business or rock star sightings—as well as visitors in town on the business can’t get rooms in Anaheim during the music show’s run—book at properties on the coast.
“We’re completely sold out.”
Restaurants are busy, too.
“It’s a significant amount of people,” said Armen Karamardian, chief executive of Zov’s Bistro Inc. in Tustin, which opened its Anaheim location in time for last year’s show. “It’s its own phenomenon.”
Kyle Simpson, who worked for four years at Roy’s near Anaheim GardenWalk, around the corner from the show, said companies here for NAMM will buy out local restaurants for a night. Visit Anaheim, the area’s destination marketing organization, helps local businesses schedule employees.
“They send us expected [attendance numbers] daily, and we’d staff up accordingly,” said Simpson, president of the OC chapter of the California Restaurant Association and co-owner of Vine Restaurant and Bar in San Clemente. “Every night during NAMM feels like a (restaurant’s) Saturday night.”
Roadies
“It’s just massive,” said convention center manager Meek.
Work includes laborers lugging in equipment before the show, tradespeople who build booths, parking personnel, cleaning crews, event security, and workers who tear down the show at week’s end.
Henry said the convention center has a security consultant and that NAMM brings in “police coverage for rock stars,” at the show.
Huntington Beach-based Staff Pro provides some security workers, and an Anaheim office of Chicago-based United Maintenance cleans the booths each night.
The Anaheim office of Dallas-based Freeman Co. is general services contractor for NAMM at the show, Meek said.
“Freeman brings in millions of pounds of freight and sets up the booths,” Henry said.
The company has about 800 people working at the show’s peak, including teamsters, decorators and electricians, said Joe Pestka, senior client solutions director.
The crew puts in 12 hours days during the show, and “the night before the show opens, you’re there until 10 p.m.,” he said. “We work with NAMM show management to make sure they’re satisfied.”
Freeman is one of the two largest of eight to 10 contractors the convention center uses for events; the other is Los Vegas-based Global Experience Specialists Inc., which has a local office in Cypress.
Booked
The January 2017 NAMM show is booked. Meek said the parties are “working on a new four-year deal” that would bring it into the new exhibit halls, and NAMM plans to take advantage of the extra space.
Other shows will also welcome room to grow.
The Natural Products Expo “started as a one-hall show” Meek said, and grew 7% last year to hit 71,000 people, its organizers said. A Mecum Auctions event in late fall brings 20,000 people and needs space for 750 classic and antique cars in exhibit halls.
The added convention center space will mean two medium-sized shows could run concurrently, Meek said.
Until then, there’s a lot of shuffling going on to bring off the really big shows.
Henry, the center’s NAMM liaison, said NAMM “gets more creative each year to maximize space.”
Convention center staff even “move out” of their own house to ensure NAMM has enough concrete and carpet for its needs.
“We take [our stuff] out of storage and put it in trailers while they’re here so they can use the space,” Meek said.
