ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- During the process of relocating the NACS Show 2005 from New Orleans to Las Vegas, the National Association of Convenience Stores also undertook an extensive review of the vulnerabilities of holding the event in New Orleans. After reviewing all of the options, the group has decided to move the NACS Show 2007 from New Orleans to Atlanta. This show will take place Nov. 7 to 9, 2007, at the Georgia World Congress Center. (The NACS Show 2006 will take place Oct. 8 to 11, 2006,in Las Vegas.)
Over the last few months, NACS said it has gathered [image-nocss] and reviewed information associated with holding the NACS Show in New Orleans, including monitoring planned reconstruction efforts, reviewing safety issues and examining the overall capacity of New Orleans to host a world-class meeting the size and scope of the show.
The NACS Show is always held in the fall, during hurricane season, and holding a show in a city vulnerable to hurricanes would put the show in a precarious position, it said. There also are concerns regarding the infrastructure in New Orleans and the confidence among attendees and exhibitors in committing to attend the 2007 event in the city.
Based on these concerns, the NACS Executive Committee concluded that it would be "impractical and inadvisable" for NACS to continue to schedule its Show in New Orleans.
Research also indicated that it was vital to continue to include the Southeast in the site rotation plan to not only make the Show easily accessible to retailers in the Southeast, but also for those on the East Coast, as well as from Europe and South and Central America.
NACS is supporting New Orleans as fully as possible. NACS intends to place other meetings in New Orleans as early as 2007 during nonhurricane season, including the Human Resource Forum, introductory and advanced category management seminars and the Southeast Regional Grassroots Event. In the long term, as other contractual commitments are fulfilled, NACS will also consider opportunities to hold larger events in New Orleans, it said.
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