Mid-Am plans move to new McCormick Place West for 2009
10 Dec, 2007 LM Direct!CHICAGO — The Mid-America Horticultural Trade Show (Mid-Am) is on the move again. Beginning with the 2009 show, Mid-Am will be re-locating its annual show to the brand new, modern McCormick Place West in Chicago, Illinois. The new facility, which opened ahead of schedule this year, features a 470,000 square foot state-of-the-art exhibition hall, more meeting rooms, and a unique centralized transportation center at ground level.
"One of the finest Green Industry trade shows in the country deserves a top-quality venue and McCormick Place West is the perfect choice," said Mid-Am Managing Director, Rand Baldwin. In addition, McCormick Place West is exhibitor-friendly with a special dock, crate storage facilities, and dedicated roadways for freight with direct connection to the truck marshalling area. "This is especially important for Mid-Am since we deal with Chicago Lakefront weather surprises in January," said Baldwin.
The move to McCormick Place West will allow Mid-Am to upgrade the show without changing the basic nature of the event, offering the more than 12,000 show-goers a better trade show experience than ever before. The new West building features a range of dining options, from a 250-seat fine dining restaurant, to a 400-seat food court, to a 600-seat elevated food court above the show floor. McCormick Place West also features 61 meeting rooms covering 150,000 square feet in close proximity to the exhibit hall, a 100,000-square-foot ballroom that can be configured multiple ways, advanced technology, including a permanent network with high speed connection to Internet2, and access to the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel.
“The move to McCormick Place West gives us the room we need to continue growing the show while retaining our usual dates – third week in January – and the popular downtown Chicago location,” said Baldwin. The Hyatt Regency Chicago will continue to serve as Mid-Am’s headquarters hotel, offering special rates and continual non-stop transportation to and from McCormick Place West on Chicago’s dedicated bus route to McCormick Place West.
Plans are underway to offer sales of exhibit space for the 2009 show to exhibitors during the 2008 show. All current exhibitors will have an opportunity for a first-hand look at how the new Mid-Am exhibit floor, including booth locations, will look in 2009.
Mid-Am is a comprehensive horticultural event that features exhibits from more than 500 industry suppliers, in-depth educational seminars, and networking events. Mid-Am 2008 will take place at Lakeside Center in Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center, Jan. 16-18. The new McCormick Place West will be the home of the Mid-Am Trade Show beginning in 2009; the show dates are scheduled for Jan. 14-16, 2009.
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