In the week leading up to the Denver Golf Expo, Mark Cramer sensed that after a couple of years of declining attendance due primarily to a lousy economy, there was a lot of “pent-up demand” out there.
And sure enough, that seemed to be the case as the numbers were tabulated Sunday for the Golf Expo, which is owned and managed by Cramer and his wife, Lynn.
Attendance for the three-day show at the Denver Merchandise Mart not only ended the downward trend, but it increased 10.2 percent compared to last year. In addition, the 10,749 total attendance was the second-largest in the 18-year history of the Denver Expo, exceeded only by the 11,202 of 2008.
“I’m ecstatic,” Cramer said Sunday night. “The industry has gone through three down years, and this is a great way to kick off 2011. I’m optimistic that things are starting to go in the right direction.”
And it wasn’t just the attendance that jumped at the Expo. Cramer said the number of exhibitors increased almost 20 percent — from 121 last year to 145 this time around.
“Our exhibitors needed a good year, so I’m really upbeat,” Cramer said.
While the news was mostly positive for the Expo, Cramer said that there were some parking issues on the cramped north side of the Merchandise Mart which upset some customers. But Cramer believes the answer to that problem may be opening up the east lot of the facility and shuttling people who park there into the show.
Meanwhile, Cramer said that after discussing the subject with executive directors Ed Mate of the CGA and Eddie Ainsworth from the Colorado PGA, he’s determined to have a Southern Colorado Golf Expo next year. “Without reservation, that will happen in 2012,” Cramer said.
The first Southern Colorado Golf Expo was held last year in Colorado Springs, but because the 2010 venue was sold to a church, the planned 2011 show didn’t happen. However, Cramer seems sure that it will be just a one-year hiatus.
Meanwhile, the CGA and CWGA held their ninth annual Club Swap at this weekend’s Denver Golf Expo, and it raised a little more than $8,000 for junior developmental programs, according to director of youth programs Dustin Jensen.
And the third year of the Colorado Junior Golf Experience — an interactive exhibit sponsored by many organizations that work with young golfers in the state — drew a little more than 550 kids over the three days. Local college players, with help from Colorado PGA members and CWGA volunteers, worked with the junior players on different aspects of their game.
“This is a continuation of a collaborative effort, and everybody involved put in a lot of work,” Jensen said.
