Outdoor Retailer returning to Salt Lake City in 2023

SALT LAKE CITY — Outdoor Retailer is returning to Utah’s capital after leaving for Denver in 2018.

The trade show, which generates tens of millions of dollars in local economic impact and draws an estimated 30,000 attendees to its two events, will be held in Salt Lake City from 2023 through 2025.

“After much deliberation and input from all sides, we’ve decided the best move for Outdoor Retailer is to return to our basecamp. We’re heading back to Salt Lake City and County to the place we grew up and where our industry matured into the dynamic and powerful community it is today.”

.@OutdoorRetailer is coming home to Salt Lake City!!!!! 🎿⛷🏂🧗‍♀️🚴‍♂️☀️❄️

— Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) March 23, 2022

The twice-a-year event was staged in Salt Lake City from 1996 until the group moved to Denver five years ago.

During its time in Salt Lake, it became the city’s largest trade show. At its peak, there were more than 29,000 attendees who strolled more than a million square feet of exhibit space according to Visit Salt Lake.

Outdoor Retailer generated more than $565 million in direct spending and another $52 million in state and local taxes.

Visit Salt Lake expected those numbers to add an additional 1,000 hotel rooms in the Downtown area with the completion of the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake convention center hotel and the new Element and Le Meridian hotels this fall.

“Salt Lake is the perfect place to host Outdoor Retailer. Home to many brands, exhibitors, and trade show suppliers, we boast unparalleled access to our outdoor testing grounds, a walkable downtown, a new airport, convention hotel and world-class hotels, brewpubs, bars, and cafes,” said Kaitlin Eskelson, President & CEO of Visit Salt Lake. “We heartily welcome them back to Utah’s great urban basecamp where the distance to demo days is measured in minutes and you can enjoy astounding four season outdoor adventure.”

NOW: @SLCoMayor and @slcmayor discuss the return of Outdoor Retailer to Salt Lake City.

The convention will return for three years, starting in 2023, with two shows per year.#utah @KSL5TV @kslnewsradio pic.twitter.com/zPtzRK6Xjk

— Ladd Egan (@laddegan) March 23, 2022

Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said, “I’m thrilled Outdoor Retailer is returning to Salt Lake County. They will again be an economic anchor for our county and bring increased revenue and job growth.” She added, “I agree with those seeking to protect Utah’s precious natural resources and in the five years since Outdoor Retailer left, Salt Lake County has led in environmental protection and conservation. We welcome Outdoor Retailer’s return and its partnership to benefit our broader community.”

Companies like Patagonia announced in 2017 that they would boycott the show following state leaders’ opposition to Bears Ears National Monument and support to shrink the monument’s size, among other disputes surrounding the use of public lands.

Paul Edwards, deputy chief of staff for then-Gov. Gary Herbert said at the time the show’s decision to leave Utah perpetuated “a false narrative” about Utah’s value of public lands and “a political agenda rather than reason or merit,” which seemed to capture the show’s decision-making.

Outdoor Retailer officials say they have not seen the change they hoped for, but said they “will push back, not pull back.”

Ben Steele, executive vice president and chief customer officer for REI said, “We are very disappointed by Emerald’s decision to move the Outdoor Retailer trade show out of Colorado and back to Utah in January 2023 despite the strong objections of the co-op and other industry leaders.”

He accused elected officials in Utah of repeatedly refusing to protect and undermine “duly designated national monuments and natural treasures, including Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante.”

His statement ended with, “As we made clear in February, REI will not participate in any OR trade show in the state so long as Utah’s leaders persist in attacking our public lands and the laws that protect them. We remain committed to our employees, members, vendors, and communities in the state.”

This is great news for Utah’s expanding outdoor industry and all those who love getting outside and experiencing the state’s natural beauty.

We look forward to welcoming Outdoor Retailer back to Salt Lake City.https://t.co/kRH8BOC1vb

— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) March 23, 2022

However, Outdoor Retailer cited Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and the city’s “tremendous investments in clean energy and a strong commitment to public lands” as “a real turning point in our recent negotiations.”

“We welcome back our friends with Outdoor Retailer and recognize their importance to Salt Lake City. We have made great improvements including the $4.2 billion airport and the new TRAX light rail airport station — connecting visitors with more than 200 restaurants and bars, a thriving arts scene, and our vibrant downtown atmosphere,” Mendenhall said.

“The biannual Outdoor Retailer events are not only a much-appreciated economic boon for our community, but a great reflection on what makes our region, and the rest of the state, truly unique, Mendenhall added. “We share the same enthusiasm, appreciation, and reverence for these great natural assets as the companies that make their way to our city to participate in Outdoor Retailer, and we welcome them back with open arms. We’re doing so much more than welcoming back a convention, we’re uniting our momentum to make change.”

Outdoor Retailer added a January survey of more than 1,500 attendees and over 2,000 exhibitor responses, along with feedback and conversations over recent months that indicated “the majority of the industry wanted” the move back to Utah.

The Associated Press reported in February that an environmental conservation group and two dozen outdoor recreation companies, including Patagonia, REI and The North Face, would boycott the trade show if moved back to Salt Lake City.

The first event in Utah will be in January for the group’s snow show; Outdoor Retailer also holds a summer event in June.