Here's something that I see people keep assuming. Who says they are looking to dramatically increase the capacity? I believe at some point, the con can have too many people, and the attendee experience will suffer greatly because of it. Just because they could in theory sell twice as many passes as they have doesn't mean that they should.
The fundamental problem is supply vs. demand. We have the supply for 65-85k people. We estimate demand to be in the 130-150k range, meaning that no matter how you skin this, there will be about 75k people that aren’t happy because they wanted a badge and were unable to purchase one.
PAX Prime, which runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2, continues to grow, despite the addition of PAX East in Boston starting in 2010 and PAX Australia this year. While Khoo said the team would like to keep PAX Prime in Seattle, the rocketing attendance may force a move from the city.
"When push comes to shove and it becomes too difficult to do PAX in Seattle I will have to look at other possibilities at some point," he said, "but not right now."
Also keep in mind, that Emerald City Comicon is now the 3rd largest Comic convention in the country, behind only SDCC and NYCC. Last year it look over the entire convention center, with over 60,000 in attendance. That's not too far behind PAX Prime. So it's not just about PAX, at this rate the WSTCC is going to have to expand to accomodate ECCC as well. Perhaps Khoo should consider working with ECCC to pressure the city to expand the WSTCC?
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Zonugal(He/Him) The Holiday ArmadilloI'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered Userregular
Expanding the WSTCC could be a bit difficult...
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PedroAsaniBrotherhood of the Squirrel[Prime]Registered Userregular
*PAX stays at the numbers it is. Khoo already described it as a problem, so I would expect him to be looking for a solution at some point soon.
*PAX moves out of Seattle, so the WSCC loses the business. The hotels and restaurants and bars lose the business. WSCC now needs to find another event to take the place (one that won't expand and move in a similar fashion a few years down the line.)
*WSCC expands to accommodate larger PAX.
Zonugal(He/Him) The Holiday ArmadilloI'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered Userregular
I just want PAX-Prime to take place in Vegas.
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zepherinRussian warship, go fuck yourselfRegistered Userregular
I think Seattle and WSCC are kind of dicking around on the expansion, and at a certain point Khoo is going to sit mike and Jerry down. And say "hey I know you like doing PAX in Seattle, but if we move pax we can accommodate an extra 20,000 people and 400 vendors. Is your nostalgia worth 2 million dollars a year?"
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PedroAsaniBrotherhood of the Squirrel[Prime]Registered Userregular
I think Seattle and WSCC are kind of dicking around on the expansion, and at a certain point Khoo is going to sit mike and Jerry down. And say "hey I know you like doing PAX in Seattle, but if we move pax we can accommodate an extra 20,000 people and 400 vendors. Is your nostalgia worth 2 million dollars a year?"
Quite likely, but I don't think 20k people would be enough for Khoo. He wants to be able to let everyone in. I think he would only propose a move if he were able to accomplish that goal.
I think Seattle and WSCC are kind of dicking around on the expansion, and at a certain point Khoo is going to sit mike and Jerry down. And say "hey I know you like doing PAX in Seattle, but if we move pax we can accommodate an extra 20,000 people and 400 vendors. Is your nostalgia worth 2 million dollars a year?"
Quite likely, but I don't think 20k people would be enough for Khoo. He wants to be able to let everyone in. I think he would only propose a move if he were able to accomplish that goal.
fair enough, and to do that number I think Khoo would need vegas.
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PedroAsaniBrotherhood of the Squirrel[Prime]Registered Userregular
I think Seattle and WSCC are kind of dicking around on the expansion, and at a certain point Khoo is going to sit mike and Jerry down. And say "hey I know you like doing PAX in Seattle, but if we move pax we can accommodate an extra 20,000 people and 400 vendors. Is your nostalgia worth 2 million dollars a year?"
Quite likely, but I don't think 20k people would be enough for Khoo. He wants to be able to let everyone in. I think he would only propose a move if he were able to accomplish that goal.
fair enough, and to do that number I think Khoo would need vegas.
He doesn't need any one specific place. He needs a Convention Center which can accommodate 135k or so people, as well as the current booths, Gaming rooms, panels and concerts. This could be one building, or several nearby spaces such as hotels, etc. Plenty of places could do that, it doesn't NEED to be any one place.
All we can do is speculate based on the available space each location offers, and the amenities of the locale. Whilst Vegas has the space, it is also going to be expensive, hot and possibly quite a bit less family-friendly than the current PAX location.
ClixThis guy I knowSeattle, WARegistered Userregular
I think that Seattle will always be home of the PAX. I doubt Prime will ever move, even if it gets a new name. Seattle is the birthplace of PAX and the home of Penny Arcade.
With that said, I hope that PAX continues to grow to new cities. Chicago, Houston, Toronto, Atlanta and many more could probably support a PAX with ease. I think that it's actually more of a question of what publishers are willing to support. Some publishers already ignore PAX, how many more will stop attending if they have five more shows to attend then the ones they already do? It cost a lot for a company to send a team to a trade show. I'd hate to see support at one show diminished so that another can be supported. I'm sure that these things are all weighed heavily by Robert and the PAX team though.
I think that Seattle will always be home of the PAX. I doubt Prime will ever move, even if it gets a new name. Seattle is the birthplace of PAX and the home of Penny Arcade.
With that said, I hope that PAX continues to grow to new cities. Chicago, Houston, Toronto, Atlanta and many more could probably support a PAX with ease. I think that it's actually more of a question of what publishers are willing to support. Some publishers already ignore PAX, how many more will stop attending if they have five more shows to attend then the ones they already do? It cost a lot for a company to send a team to a trade show. I'd hate to see support at one show diminished so that another can be supported. I'm sure that these things are all weighed heavily by Robert and the PAX team though.
I don't see PAX being 5 a year in the US. But 5 a year total? Let's take an imaginary peek at the Khoo PAX Master Plan. What might be on there? Well PAX Aus says they want to expand overseas. They were considering one in London before they settled on Aus. I could see them pitching one up in Europe at some point. If London was a no-go, there are plenty of places in the UK (Birmingham, Manchester) and it would be just my luck to have a "local" PAX just as I move stateside.
UK makes sense for Europe because of the Language. So that's 4. What about 5?
Japan. No, wait. Before you start throwing things, let's consider it. Japan is the Home of Nintendo. It has a large dedicated gamer base, to say nothing of South Korea. Whilst the language might be a stumbling block, PA already has fans across Europe in a variety of languages. So if you tell me there is a rabid Japanese/Korean following, shock won't be the reaction.
That still leaves two bi-coastal US PAXs (to drag this back on topic) which is all I think their schedule can handle. East seems to be just about the right size (for now) with Prime being the problem child. It is a victim of it's own success.
Don't be surprised to see the Prime name dropped in favour of West in a couple of years. That, along with a decoupling of the show from Seattle should it be required, will be the mark of the endgame for PAX. Both Mike and Jerry have said that the ultimate goal is to have PAX be self sustaining. They want to be able to attend as regular people at some point, without running panels or events.
So with space being a problem, the desire to have PAX stand apart from the comic and Khoo being Khoo, I can see at least one PAX West being outside of Seattle. Even if WSCC do a huge expansion it will take time. So PAX '15 or PAX '16 moving, even for just a year, will be the perfect time to rebrand it.
Edit: Also, given the new colour scheme, I'm going with Green for UK and purple for Japan.
zepherinRussian warship, go fuck yourselfRegistered Userregular
Pedro: I agree with you.
Always remember Penny Arcade is a multimillion dollar business. It is an awesome business, but it is still a business and the purpose of a business is to make money. Separating pa from pax is a good business move. If one gets run into the ground for whatever reason, separation means they won't drag each other down.
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Zonugal(He/Him) The Holiday ArmadilloI'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered Userregular
I think Seattle and WSCC are kind of dicking around on the expansion, and at a certain point Khoo is going to sit mike and Jerry down. And say "hey I know you like doing PAX in Seattle, but if we move pax we can accommodate an extra 20,000 people and 400 vendors. Is your nostalgia worth 2 million dollars a year?"
They aren't really "dicking around."
It is really hard to expand in that particular area unless they want to build upwards.
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PedroAsaniBrotherhood of the Squirrel[Prime]Registered Userregular
I think Seattle and WSCC are kind of dicking around on the expansion, and at a certain point Khoo is going to sit mike and Jerry down. And say "hey I know you like doing PAX in Seattle, but if we move pax we can accommodate an extra 20,000 people and 400 vendors. Is your nostalgia worth 2 million dollars a year?"
They aren't really "dicking around."
It is really hard to expand in that particular area unless they want to build upwards.
Whilst I'm no structural engineer, a quick Street View of the area shows that the hotels surrounding WSCC are much taller, so presumably up is a viable direction to expand. Now, they might need to demolish and start over, or they might be able to do minimal work in the existing structure and add a floor or two whilst keeping the current space available. Either one would work.
If WSCC and PA want to keep Seattle as the home of PAX Prime, WSCC expansion is needed unless an alternate venue can be found nearby. If WSCC is going to expand, then a temporary move of Prime may be needed whilst WSCC is closed for refurbishment. I think it's quite likely that either '15 or '16 will be outside Seattle, and probably Washington state.
I think Seattle and WSCC are kind of dicking around on the expansion, and at a certain point Khoo is going to sit mike and Jerry down. And say "hey I know you like doing PAX in Seattle, but if we move pax we can accommodate an extra 20,000 people and 400 vendors. Is your nostalgia worth 2 million dollars a year?"
They aren't really "dicking around."
It is really hard to expand in that particular area unless they want to build upwards.
Whilst I'm no structural engineer, a quick Street View of the area shows that the hotels surrounding WSCC are much taller, so presumably up is a viable direction to expand. Now, they might need to demolish and start over, or they might be able to do minimal work in the existing structure and add a floor or two whilst keeping the current space available. Either one would work.
If WSCC and PA want to keep Seattle as the home of PAX Prime, WSCC expansion is needed unless an alternate venue can be found nearby. If WSCC is going to expand, then a temporary move of Prime may be needed whilst WSCC is closed for refurbishment. I think it's quite likely that either '15 or '16 will be outside Seattle, and probably Washington state.
Oddly enough it would probably be cheaper to buy a building next door demo the building build and expansion and put up a bridge or two over the steet to connect places.
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PedroAsaniBrotherhood of the Squirrel[Prime]Registered Userregular
Oddly enough it would probably be cheaper to buy a building next door demo the building build and expansion and put up a bridge or two over the steet to connect places.
Assuming they were willing to sell, and at a reasonable price. Which could be the problem.
I think Seattle and WSCC are kind of dicking around on the expansion, and at a certain point Khoo is going to sit mike and Jerry down. And say "hey I know you like doing PAX in Seattle, but if we move pax we can accommodate an extra 20,000 people and 400 vendors. Is your nostalgia worth 2 million dollars a year?"
They aren't really "dicking around."
It is really hard to expand in that particular area unless they want to build upwards.
Whilst I'm no structural engineer, a quick Street View of the area shows that the hotels surrounding WSCC are much taller, so presumably up is a viable direction to expand. Now, they might need to demolish and start over, or they might be able to do minimal work in the existing structure and add a floor or two whilst keeping the current space available. Either one would work.
This is made difficult by the fact that the WSCC is in downtown Seattle and close to the primary tourist section of the city. The construction, traffic slow-down and every other issue with a project that big would be pretty hard to accomplish with the local geography/environment.
If WSCC and PA want to keep Seattle as the home of PAX Prime, WSCC expansion is needed unless an alternate venue can be found nearby. If WSCC is going to expand, then a temporary move of Prime may be needed whilst WSCC is closed for refurbishment. I think it's quite likely that either '15 or '16 will be outside Seattle, and probably Washington state.
I think PAX-Prime is locked into the WSCC till 2016, which is why they can have the convention four days long.
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MordrothEntrepreNerdNew Republic of AlbertaRegistered Userregular
Suggestion: PAX North in Calgary - Downtown facilities can handle 130k people a day.
That is a largely outdoor event, with a stadium providing the bulk of the seating. Seattle could up the numbers if they were to use my ludicrous tent-on-the-pier idea. But it isn't great for what is in the main a convention.
Oddly enough it would probably be cheaper to buy a building next door demo the building build and expansion and put up a bridge or two over the steet to connect places.
Assuming they were willing to sell, and at a reasonable price. Which could be the problem.
Fair enough, I think the real problem, and the biggest road block, is that WSCC is a public facilities district, which makes things really complex when it comes to funding. A 755 million dollar expansion is going to be hard to justify to Washington state considering that the convention center only stays afloat because of the lodging tax. With the tax they are 18 million in the black. That would barely cover the monthly payments of a bond, so any expansion would have to coincide with raising taxes, or diverting some tax money from the general fund, and with economic impact that may be worth it. Hell being able to add an extra 20k for each of Seattles big conventions will be useful, but we are mixing money and politics and that means that things take a long time to get done.
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PedroAsaniBrotherhood of the Squirrel[Prime]Registered Userregular
Fair enough, I think the real problem, and the biggest road block, is that WSCC is a public facilities district, which makes things really complex when it comes to funding. A 755 million dollar expansion is going to be hard to justify to Washington state considering that the convention center only stays afloat because of the lodging tax. With the tax they are 18 million in the black. That would barely cover the monthly payments of a bond, so any expansion would have to coincide with raising taxes, or diverting some tax money from the general fund, and with economic impact that may be worth it. Hell being able to add an extra 20k for each of Seattles big conventions will be useful, but we are mixing money and politics and that means that things take a long time to get done.
Which is even more likely to make moving out of Seattle happen sometime in the future.
That is a largely outdoor event, with a stadium providing the bulk of the seating. Seattle could up the numbers if they were to use my ludicrous tent-on-the-pier idea. But it isn't great for what is in the main a convention.
That is a largely outdoor event, with a stadium providing the bulk of the seating. Seattle could up the numbers if they were to use my ludicrous tent-on-the-pier idea. But it isn't great for what is in the main a convention.
"The 2013 Calgary Expo encompasses the entire BMO Centre, the Stampede Corral, and the Big Four Building at Stampede Park. That's over 400,000 sq. ft. of things to see!"
Still not the kind of numbers needed. It would need to be a lot bigger.
I keep coming back to this, and honestly the 150k on top of the 400k at WSCC isn't going to cut it (unless they are currently only occupying part of WSCC) if they are looking to double capacity. Add on that they need to wait through PAX '14, '15 and '16 before it happens, and a move looks more probable. Although I'm more and more wanting my tent-on-the-pier idea to be considered. Circus PAX, with mimes and clowns you can hit with a rake.
I am all for this Circus PAX, only if Jerry is forced to cosplay as a clown
I work for a small gaming and tech website as an editor, we go to CES every year and unless you want to spend a small fortune (like double or triple what you spend in Seattle) and deal with a filthy city of rude people you do not want PAX in Vegas.
I AM THE VAMPIRE
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TD&TRQrockband night co-host in seattleRegistered Userregular
What about the ball fields? They have a ton of space there
Seems pretty clear after reading Tychos post today:
There are three PAXes now - one in Seattle, one in Boston, and one in Melbourne. That’s… I mean, that’s what’s up. That’s what’s going on. This is the truth zone, etc.
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PedroAsaniBrotherhood of the Squirrel[Prime]Registered Userregular
Seems pretty clear after reading Tychos post today:
There are three PAXes now - one in Seattle, one in Boston, and one in Melbourne. That’s… I mean, that’s what’s up. That’s what’s going on. This is the truth zone, etc.
Context much?
He was talking about the reaction of the Australians. "Do you think you'll be back?" He is stating that there are three regular PAXes, one of which is in Australia. I wouldn't read into it that this means PAX Prime is forever and always going to be in Seattle, any more than they thought the first PAX East would be at the John B. Hynes VMCC.
I take this to mean that there will be a PAX in Australia every year, a PAX on the West coast every year and a PAX on the East coast every year. Nothing more. Specific venues are liable to change to meet demands, and even cities are liable to change. This thread wouldn't have arisen otherwise. I'm not saying it is definitely going to happen, but equally you can't say that it isn't going to happen.
At one of the Q & As at PAX Aus it was mentioned that there is probably room in the schedule for one more PAX. Though that's about as detailed as they got.
Without quoting all the posts that bring up expanding the WSCC, I would like to add something to think about:
The WSCC is built *directly* over I-5. In order to build up, you must be able to build down to a certain extent. The freeway is something they'll have to work around.
"Brilliant! Oh wait, if we were meant to fly, we would have been born with little bags of nuts."
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[H]olyGeekboyPAX dad and PC builderClevelandRegistered User, ClubPAregular
The Seattle area PA/PAX supporter is what carried this endevour[sic] to what it is today. Sure, moving it to another location would probably mean more capacity, but how about a bit of fraking loyality?
Peace, brother. Loyalty is for soldiers and soccer fans.
Whipping out the elite "the first PAX" stuff and "The Seattle area PA/PAX supporter is what carried this endevour[sic] to what it is today"? What's with the severe case off butt-hurt here, friend? Earlier supporters are owed something? I used to paypal these guys $5 a month 11 years ago so they could pay for hosting! (ClubPA, represent!). I think it's fantastic when new people and young people find out about PA and PAX and help build our community and bring in new enthusiasm.
And if I read just past what you wrote, the message is "I'd rather have a smaller convention where I like it than an event more gamer/geek people can attend," which frankly I don't agree with. I agree that being too big could take away form the show, but there are a lot of people who want to do the show who can't and there's been no sign that the size of Boston has changed its "PAXness."
I've made the trip to Boston for four years, which is an 11 hour drive and pricey hotel stay. I'm taking an even more expensive plane trip to Seattle next month for the first time. As long as they keep making an awesome show, I'm going to do what I can to attend. The venue or geography don't impact the show, and shouldn't discourage good people from attending.
One would be SDCC has almost nothing to do with comics anymore. It's the anticipation of 'hey this actor is going to be there!' and many other things but with a large number of attendees caring little about comics.
I almost see PAX following a similar path (at least for reasons of demand). If it were less about swag runs and big publishers' glitz and glamor and refocus on gaming, I think you'd see a demand adjustment. Aside from that, I like to think that Robert still has the feeling expressed in S. 2 of PA the series where he says PAX is more of a big party than a convention or expo. To that end, I see Khoo as the ultimate gaming guru party promoter. And when you get "too big" you don't just find a new venue, you throw more parties! Though I do live in Seattle and don't like the thought of no PAX in the game epicenter of the country ;D
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CuvisTheConquerorThey always say "yee haw" but they never ask "haw yee?" Registered Userregular
Oddly enough it would probably be cheaper to buy a building next door demo the building build and expansion and put up a bridge or two over the steet to connect places.
Assuming they were willing to sell, and at a reasonable price. Which could be the problem.
WSCC is owned by the city government, right? So they could always play the "eminent domain" card. It wouldn't be a nice thing to do, but they could.
So I kind of just skimmed over the responses and I don't think it has been brought up yet but what about the LoL NA Championship. This is being held at PAX this year (again) and I don't think it helps the room issue that we're having. I love PAX, and I love LoL...just not together.
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thejaxxExpo Zone LeaderTukwila, WaRegistered Userregular
There were some plans tossed around not to long ago about possible expansion plans, building over the bus depot which is below ground and a few other spots.
But the city would also make a fair offer to the owners of buildings they would like to get and usually if those places balk and try to wring the city dry, the city just puts the eminent domain on it and that's that.
There were some plans tossed around not to long ago about possible expansion plans, building over the bus depot which is below ground and a few other spots.
But the city would also make a fair offer to the owners of buildings they would like to get and usually if those places balk and try to wring the city dry, the city just puts the eminent domain on it and that's that.
The problem with Eminent Domain is that when a city uses it, it scares property owners. Businesses becomes reluctant to stay for fear of the same happening to them, and others decide not to move in for the same reason. That hits the local economy, and so city officials are reluctant to use ED laws in the city. Typically it is used on landowners out in the sticks when they are looking to build a shopping mall or airport.
Posts
Well...
And...
Then also...
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Well the alternatives are:
*PAX stays at the numbers it is. Khoo already described it as a problem, so I would expect him to be looking for a solution at some point soon.
*PAX moves out of Seattle, so the WSCC loses the business. The hotels and restaurants and bars lose the business. WSCC now needs to find another event to take the place (one that won't expand and move in a similar fashion a few years down the line.)
*WSCC expands to accommodate larger PAX.
This goes the same for Emerald City.
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Quite likely, but I don't think 20k people would be enough for Khoo. He wants to be able to let everyone in. I think he would only propose a move if he were able to accomplish that goal.
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He doesn't need any one specific place. He needs a Convention Center which can accommodate 135k or so people, as well as the current booths, Gaming rooms, panels and concerts. This could be one building, or several nearby spaces such as hotels, etc. Plenty of places could do that, it doesn't NEED to be any one place.
All we can do is speculate based on the available space each location offers, and the amenities of the locale. Whilst Vegas has the space, it is also going to be expensive, hot and possibly quite a bit less family-friendly than the current PAX location.
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With that said, I hope that PAX continues to grow to new cities. Chicago, Houston, Toronto, Atlanta and many more could probably support a PAX with ease. I think that it's actually more of a question of what publishers are willing to support. Some publishers already ignore PAX, how many more will stop attending if they have five more shows to attend then the ones they already do? It cost a lot for a company to send a team to a trade show. I'd hate to see support at one show diminished so that another can be supported. I'm sure that these things are all weighed heavily by Robert and the PAX team though.
I don't see PAX being 5 a year in the US. But 5 a year total? Let's take an imaginary peek at the Khoo PAX Master Plan. What might be on there? Well PAX Aus says they want to expand overseas. They were considering one in London before they settled on Aus. I could see them pitching one up in Europe at some point. If London was a no-go, there are plenty of places in the UK (Birmingham, Manchester) and it would be just my luck to have a "local" PAX just as I move stateside.
UK makes sense for Europe because of the Language. So that's 4. What about 5?
Japan. No, wait. Before you start throwing things, let's consider it. Japan is the Home of Nintendo. It has a large dedicated gamer base, to say nothing of South Korea. Whilst the language might be a stumbling block, PA already has fans across Europe in a variety of languages. So if you tell me there is a rabid Japanese/Korean following, shock won't be the reaction.
That still leaves two bi-coastal US PAXs (to drag this back on topic) which is all I think their schedule can handle. East seems to be just about the right size (for now) with Prime being the problem child. It is a victim of it's own success.
Don't be surprised to see the Prime name dropped in favour of West in a couple of years. That, along with a decoupling of the show from Seattle should it be required, will be the mark of the endgame for PAX. Both Mike and Jerry have said that the ultimate goal is to have PAX be self sustaining. They want to be able to attend as regular people at some point, without running panels or events.
So with space being a problem, the desire to have PAX stand apart from the comic and Khoo being Khoo, I can see at least one PAX West being outside of Seattle. Even if WSCC do a huge expansion it will take time. So PAX '15 or PAX '16 moving, even for just a year, will be the perfect time to rebrand it.
Edit: Also, given the new colour scheme, I'm going with Green for UK and purple for Japan.
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Always remember Penny Arcade is a multimillion dollar business. It is an awesome business, but it is still a business and the purpose of a business is to make money. Separating pa from pax is a good business move. If one gets run into the ground for whatever reason, separation means they won't drag each other down.
They aren't really "dicking around."
It is really hard to expand in that particular area unless they want to build upwards.
Whilst I'm no structural engineer, a quick Street View of the area shows that the hotels surrounding WSCC are much taller, so presumably up is a viable direction to expand. Now, they might need to demolish and start over, or they might be able to do minimal work in the existing structure and add a floor or two whilst keeping the current space available. Either one would work.
If WSCC and PA want to keep Seattle as the home of PAX Prime, WSCC expansion is needed unless an alternate venue can be found nearby. If WSCC is going to expand, then a temporary move of Prime may be needed whilst WSCC is closed for refurbishment. I think it's quite likely that either '15 or '16 will be outside Seattle, and probably Washington state.
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Assuming they were willing to sell, and at a reasonable price. Which could be the problem.
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This is made difficult by the fact that the WSCC is in downtown Seattle and close to the primary tourist section of the city. The construction, traffic slow-down and every other issue with a project that big would be pretty hard to accomplish with the local geography/environment.
I think PAX-Prime is locked into the WSCC till 2016, which is why they can have the convention four days long.
http://news.calgarystampede.com/Media-Resources/Media-Guide-2013/AbouttheStampede/Attendance/default.aspx
That is a largely outdoor event, with a stadium providing the bulk of the seating. Seattle could up the numbers if they were to use my ludicrous tent-on-the-pier idea. But it isn't great for what is in the main a convention.
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Which is even more likely to make moving out of Seattle happen sometime in the future.
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http://www.calgaryexpo.com/
"The 2013 Calgary Expo encompasses the entire BMO Centre, the Stampede Corral, and the Big Four Building at Stampede Park. That's over 400,000 sq. ft. of things to see!"
Still not the kind of numbers needed. It would need to be a lot bigger.
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Context much?
He was talking about the reaction of the Australians. "Do you think you'll be back?" He is stating that there are three regular PAXes, one of which is in Australia. I wouldn't read into it that this means PAX Prime is forever and always going to be in Seattle, any more than they thought the first PAX East would be at the John B. Hynes VMCC.
I take this to mean that there will be a PAX in Australia every year, a PAX on the West coast every year and a PAX on the East coast every year. Nothing more. Specific venues are liable to change to meet demands, and even cities are liable to change. This thread wouldn't have arisen otherwise. I'm not saying it is definitely going to happen, but equally you can't say that it isn't going to happen.
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The WSCC is built *directly* over I-5. In order to build up, you must be able to build down to a certain extent. The freeway is something they'll have to work around.
"Brilliant! Oh wait, if we were meant to fly, we would have been born with little bags of nuts."
Peace, brother. Loyalty is for soldiers and soccer fans.
Whipping out the elite "the first PAX" stuff and "The Seattle area PA/PAX supporter is what carried this endevour[sic] to what it is today"? What's with the severe case off butt-hurt here, friend? Earlier supporters are owed something? I used to paypal these guys $5 a month 11 years ago so they could pay for hosting! (ClubPA, represent!). I think it's fantastic when new people and young people find out about PA and PAX and help build our community and bring in new enthusiasm.
And if I read just past what you wrote, the message is "I'd rather have a smaller convention where I like it than an event more gamer/geek people can attend," which frankly I don't agree with. I agree that being too big could take away form the show, but there are a lot of people who want to do the show who can't and there's been no sign that the size of Boston has changed its "PAXness."
I've made the trip to Boston for four years, which is an 11 hour drive and pricey hotel stay. I'm taking an even more expensive plane trip to Seattle next month for the first time. As long as they keep making an awesome show, I'm going to do what I can to attend. The venue or geography don't impact the show, and shouldn't discourage good people from attending.
Actually, it was Bellevue, and they moved it because of space issues. Hopefully they'll do it again soon.
One would be SDCC has almost nothing to do with comics anymore. It's the anticipation of 'hey this actor is going to be there!' and many other things but with a large number of attendees caring little about comics.
I almost see PAX following a similar path (at least for reasons of demand). If it were less about swag runs and big publishers' glitz and glamor and refocus on gaming, I think you'd see a demand adjustment. Aside from that, I like to think that Robert still has the feeling expressed in S. 2 of PA the series where he says PAX is more of a big party than a convention or expo. To that end, I see Khoo as the ultimate gaming guru party promoter. And when you get "too big" you don't just find a new venue, you throw more parties! Though I do live in Seattle and don't like the thought of no PAX in the game epicenter of the country ;D
WSCC is owned by the city government, right? So they could always play the "eminent domain" card. It wouldn't be a nice thing to do, but they could.
But the city would also make a fair offer to the owners of buildings they would like to get and usually if those places balk and try to wring the city dry, the city just puts the eminent domain on it and that's that.
From back in March/April: http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2013/03/28/washington-state-convention-center.html?page=all
The problem with Eminent Domain is that when a city uses it, it scares property owners. Businesses becomes reluctant to stay for fear of the same happening to them, and others decide not to move in for the same reason. That hits the local economy, and so city officials are reluctant to use ED laws in the city. Typically it is used on landowners out in the sticks when they are looking to build a shopping mall or airport.
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