Chicago is losing a premier medical trade show to Las Vegas because of the high cost of electrician services at McCormick Place, the show organizer said late Wednesday.No only is Chicago's McCormick Place expensive but who can forget the convention center's ties to organized crime?
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, which held its annual meeting at McCormick Place for the first time in April, is taking its 2012 show to the Sands Expo and Convention Center and the adjacent Venetian hotel.
The show rotates between several cities, and 2012 had been the next window for Chicago, which is trying to establish itself as a center for medical meetings.
Chicago was ruled out after show exhibitors and organizers were slammed with electrical services bills that were four to 10 times greater than what they paid at last year's show in Orlando, Fla., for identical services, said Steve Lieber, president and CEO of the Chicago-based association.
One small exhibitor saw its electrical-services bill climb from $4,000 in Orlando to $40,000 in Chicago, for the same booth, he said, adding that others saw costs rise by four to eight times what they paid in Orlando.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Medical group pulling trade show from Chicago after one visit
The Chicago Tribune reports:
