Mark and Lynn Cramer certainly have experienced their share of odd occurrences in their roles as owners and managers of the Denver and Southern Colorado Golf Expos.
Three years ago, for instance, the Denver Golf Expo not only unexpectedly shared the Denver Merchandise Mart with “The Sex Show” exhibition for a weekend, but it also had a 40-foot-wide sinkhole on I-25 close down the most-utilized exit ramp to the Merchandise Mart.
Then this year, the Cramers’ plans to hold the second annual Southern Colorado Golf Expo were stopped in their tracks by the Expo Center site being purchased and converted into a place of worship by The Springs Church in Colorado Springs.
At this point, you might think the Cramers would just shake their heads and ask “What’s next?”
But, said Mark Cramer, “Sometimes you’re dealt a hand and you’ve got to just play it.”
The upshot is that there will be no Southern Colorado Golf Expo this year, though Cramer hopes it is just a “postponement” and that the Expo will be held again in 2012. Meanwhile, the Denver Golf Expo will be conducted for the 18th consecutive year, with this winter’s show scheduled for Feb. 11-13 at the Denver Merchandise Mart at I-25 and 58th Ave.
There’s never a good time for an event such as the Southern Colorado Golf Expo to be dealt such a blow, but this chain of events seems particularly inopportune because the Southern Colorado show was just launched last year, and leaders in the golf industry were hoping to build some momentum.
Last year’s inaugural event drew 50 exhibitors and more than 3,000 attendees for the two-day Expo at the Phil Long Expo Center in northern Colorado Springs. With plenty of assistance from the CGA, CWGA and Colorado PGA, there were seminars, individualized instruction by professionals, the Junior Golf Experience, the CGA Golf Swap, a club demo area and no shortage of deals.
All in all, it was a promising beginning in taking the Denver Golf Expo concept to the southern part of the state. Then came the unexpected sale of the Phil Long Center.
“Did we lose some momentum? Maybe,” Cramer said. “But we didn’t want to run an inferior show, so it’s best to postpone. We figured if we can’t do it right, let’s not do it this year.”
Cramer said he first got wind of what was going on with the 110,000-square-foot Phil Long Center in October, but initially he heard that part of the Center might remain open for shows. That didn’t turn out to be in cards, and on Oct. 21, the (Colorado Springs) Gazette newspaper reported that the nondenominational Springs Church would be buying the Expo Center for $5 million.
The Springs Church, founded just 21 months ago, needed a bigger venue after seeing a rapid increase in its attendees, while Phil Long Dealerships CEO Jay Cimino told the Gazette that the Expo Center was losing money.
With the deal finalized in November — the church’s first services at its new site were at the beginning of this year — Cramer started looking for other possible venues for the Southern Colorado Expo. He checked into several Colorado Springs facilities, but they either weren’t a good fit, or were cost-prohibitive. And with time running out to organize such a show — Cramer said it has to take place before mid-March because otherwise it would conflict with the beginning of the golf season — he decided to put off the Southern Colorado Golf Expo for a year.
“I don’t have a crystal ball, but hopefully everything will sort itself out,” Cramer said. “Colorado Springs and Pueblo have a lot to offer and the demographics are good.”
Meanwhile, Cramer is optimistic about next month’s Denver Golf Expo, particularly with some signs the economy is improving.
“Sales are up $25,000 compared to this time last year,” he said. “I think things are on the upswing; people aren’t running as scared. Hopefully that will be reflected” at the Denver show.
In 2010, 9,751 people attended the three-day Denver Golf Expo.
