Perturbation

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Hamvention: The Wrap

Posted: 06 Aug 2016 10:35 AM PDT
https://ke9v.net/2016/08/06/hamvention-the-wrap/


It’s been a week since news broke that Hara Arena was closing, and only
five days since a new site for the event was announced. It seems longer
than that.Â*I didn’t intend for this story to dominate the entire week on
the blog, but things spun up rather quickly.

Over five-thousand views of theÂ*Fairgrounds post tells me that folks are
passionate about Hamvention. It doesn’t hurt that the post was linked in
the ARRL Letter, but I think it’s mostly the event, and the intense
interest it attracts.

Just a few final thoughts to wrap this up and move on.

There have been plenty of boo-birds chiming in with gloom and doom
predictions about the move. I think it’s important to keep in mind that
this was forced, it wasn’t optional. A better argument could be made that
DARA should have fled Hara Arena a decade ago but didn’t. But with that
decision having been made for them, they were forced into contingency mode.

I happen to think they made a solid decision in selecting the new site,
others disagree. We’re going to find out next May who was right and who was
wrong.



That’s not to say 25,000 need show-up for Hamvention 2017 to be a triumph,
but it will be the primary metric for measuring success. 20,000 could
attend and absolutely love the new venue and the headline would still be
that the event is “doomed.

Sorry to have to say it again, but I’m stunned by the general lack of
understanding of what it takes to run Hamvention. Those who continue to
opine that the event should move to “Las Vegas� or some other region of the
country are simply clueless about how this all works, yet these seem the
most vocal of the boo-birds.

In order for Hamvention to really succeed at the Greene County Fairgrounds,
organizers are going to have to think outside the box and reset the show in
an entirely new configuration. New activities will need to be added, and a
few things may need to be left out. A lot will have to be altered.

Not everyone will be happy but ‘everyone has never been happy with
Hamvention.Â*Its a challenge, mostly because they haven’t had to tweak the
formula much for decades.

But DARA has a proven track record in pulling off the big event. Theyve
actually done it. Its not a hypothetical conversation in a pub. They turned
it into the largest, most successful ham radio event in the United States.
No other convention or hamfest comes close to its size in attendance or
dollars generated.

And they’ve done it over the last ten years in sub-standard facilities.

So again, my challenge to those who want the event moved out of the region
— launch your own ham radio convention in one of those wonderful places
with first-class amenities and make it the largest such event in the USA —
and I’ll be right there to congratulate your accomplishment.

Until then, just keep blowing smoke and leave the job to the professional
amateurs in Dayton.