Florida Supercon Moves to Fort Lauderdale Due to Miami Beach Construction
Fort Lauderdale, September 6, 2016 - Florida Supercon, the second largest convention event held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in 2016, only behind Art Basel, has announced that it is moving its celebrities, attendees, and economic impact to Fort Lauderdale for at least the next two years. Florida Supercon will take place July 27-30, 2017 at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention Center.
Florida Supercon draws more than 53,000 attendees over 4 days with more than 5,000 coming from outside of the South Florida, tri-county area. Of those, 1,000 came from outside of Florida, and 200 came from outside of the United States. In 2016, Supercon tracked 3,000 room nights booked by attendees in area hotels, generating more than half a million in direct revenue to hotels.
The move is directly attributable to ongoing construction at the Miami Beach Convention Center and the surrounding area. Construction was a burden this year with 50% of the facility unavailable, the loss of one of the two loading docks, and the loss of the parking lot directly across the street. 2017 estimates show that the exhibit halls will shrink another 25% and that ballrooms and breakout rooms will shrink by 75%. Due to the elimination of some fire exits, building capacity will also be lessened by over 35% from 2016 levels. Furthermore, street construction will have a significant impact on traffic and parking. Initial plans to use The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater, a Live Nation Venue, as an expansion of the event, as was done in 2016, would no longer be considered due to the extremely negative experiences Supercon attendees and staff had with that facility.
A survey conducted of Supercon attendees showed that they spend an average of $300 on food and other non-admission items during their stay. Centerplate, the concessions manager of the Miami Beach Convention Center, generated over $450,000 in food and beverage revenue inside of the convention center during Florida Supercon in 2016.
“Despite the challenges with construction, the Miami Beach Convention Center has been a great partner. It is managed by helpful staff who have worked side by side with us over the past three years to put on amazing fan events. We are also grateful to Fort Lauderdale for welcoming us with wide open arms during this challenging time. Both the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau and the staff of the Convention Center have been incredibly helpful and accommodating in making this move possible.” said Mike Broder, President of Super Conventions.
Prior to this announcement, Super Conventions, parent company of Florida Supercon, announced that they have moved two additional events to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention Center from the Miami Airport Convention Center. “We ran out of space in that building, and we wanted a more modern facility,” said Broder. Those events include Animate Florida September 16-18, 2016 with 12,000 attendees, and Paradise City Comic Con December 9-10-11, 2016 with 19,000 attendees. Super Conventions had an eye on The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention Center for many years, but waited to host an event there until the security gate was moved.
All of the events produced by Super Conventions are family friendly and targeted to geek interests. For more information, visit www.floridasupercon.com.
About Florida Supercon:
Florida Supercon is the largest convention for comic books, anime, animation, video games, fantasy, Sci-Fi and pop culture genres in South Florida. This 4-day event features celebrity guests, comic book creators, voice actors, industry guests, cosplayers, artists, writers, panels, Q&As, films & shorts, costume and cosplay contests, vendors, parties, anime, workshops, video gaming, children's events and more for the whole family. With a lifetime interest in comics and Sci-Fi, Mike Broder founded Florida Supercon in 2006 with 1,500 attendees and it has grown to over 53,000 in 2016. All photos courtesy of Florida Supercon.
