After months of speculation and hard negotiating, the Outdoor Retailer (OR) trade show . On Thursday, Visit Denver and OR show owner Emerald Expositions signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing that, starting in January 2018, Denver鈥檚 Colorado Convention center will host three shows a year: a winter snow show, Summer Outdoor Retailer, and the new Outdoor Retailer November, aimed at the soft goods market. The deal may also pave the way for a fourth outdoor industry show, the Grassroots Connect, to follow, though terms of the agreement have not yet been finalized.
鈥淥utdoor Retailer chose Denver for its new home because it was the undeniable choice of the industry,鈥 says Marisa Nicholson, OR show director. 鈥淒enver and the state of Colorado are passionate about protecting and nurturing outdoor recreation, [which is] critical to the growth of our industry.鈥 Each show is expected to bring 20,000 attendees the city; it鈥檚 estimated that, combined, they will pump聽$45 million into the local economy each year.
The announcement comes almost six months after OR鈥檚 organizers and biggest attendees decided to leave the Salt Lake City location they鈥檇 used for 21 years in protest over Utah elected officials鈥 stance on public lands, especially the newly designated Bears Ears Monument. The break with Utah was seen as a galvanizing moment for an industry overdue to enter the political arena, and some feared that major players would opt out of聽the industry鈥檚 premiere gathering if it went to the highest bidder rather than a state that supported public lands and conservation. And that, in turn, could have been the death knell for the show.
鈥淥rlando鈥檚 Super Show was three or four times bigger than Outdoor Retailer, and once Nike and other big companies pulled out, it died pretty swiftly,鈥 says Dan Nordstrom, CEO of Outdoor Research.聽鈥淭he cracks were already in the edifice last year once companies started boycotting OR over Utah politics. Companies might find it more cost effective to wine and dine retailers directly. It would be easy to lose the whole thing.鈥
Many in the industry lobbied for-profit Emerald Expositions, to steer OR to Colorado not only because of its position as a premiere outdoor adventure destination, but also as a reward for it鈥檚 more progressive and balanced approach to public lands and . That they were able to land it, say many of those close to the negotiations, was the result of a lot of sweat and sleepless nights on the part of Luis Benitez, director of Colorado鈥檚 Outdoor Recreation Industry Office.
The former alpine guide has six summits of Everest on his resume as well as teaching gigs with the Wharton School of Business. Those who witnessed his work say that he has been tireless in his diligence to bring OR to Colorado. 鈥淗e鈥檚 the most hardworking guy I鈥檝e ever seen in government service,鈥 says Ken Gart, Colorado bicycle czar and former co-owner of Gart Sports. 鈥淗e was tireless because he believed that the show belongs in Colorado. Colorado is a purple state politically with a purple governor. [He believes] that in these partisan times, outdoor recreation can be a way forward.鈥
Benitez says the show is crucial to uniting the industry as a force for conservation. 鈥淭he outdoor recrecation community is a significant economic driver, but it also can lead the national dialogue regarding climate change, access to public lands, and the promotion of health and wellness,鈥 says Benitez. 鈥淏usiness is that crucial middle ground that has been disappearing from politics.鈥 He is also looking to revitalize the show by making it more inclusive of the general public鈥攚hile the Outdoor Retailer show has traditionally been open only to those directly involved in the industry, Benitez would like the public to get more involved. 鈥淟etting more people in the building is an easy way to make the show more relevant.鈥
While Denver was the outdoor industry鈥檚 top choice of location, it wasn鈥檛 necessarily Emerald鈥檚. For one, Denver鈥檚 convention center and hotel sector is booming鈥攆or many of the dates OR needs, the city runs an 85 percent hotel occupancy, says Richard Scharf, president of Visit Denver. 鈥淪ome of that business is booked out into 2031 right now, so creating room was a major challenge.鈥
Emerald requested that Denver clear dates for OR for the next 30 years, so Scharf鈥檚 team had a huge puzzle to solve. Boosted by Benitez and the governor鈥檚 and mayor鈥檚 offices, which both badly wanted to land the OR shows, Scharf started working in March 2017 to move more than 40 clients. Visit Denver convened twice weekly meetings with more than 30 downtown Denver hotels to find the 6,500 hotel rooms they鈥檇 need on the peak nights.
Initially, Emerald also believed that the Colorado Convention Center wasn鈥檛 large enough to house the 900,000 square feet that OR requires. (Even Salt Lake City traditionally erected tents to accommodate all vendors.) So Scharf reconfigured the OR floor plan, creating space for the show without resorting to outdoor event tents. They also brought the trade unions to the table to help negotiate鈥攁n unprecedented move for the Colorado Convention Center. 鈥淜udos to the unions,鈥 says Benitez, who can鈥檛 say which ones participated due to confidentiality agreements. 鈥淭hey were able to understand how important this is to our state.鈥
But it was Benitez who brought everyone to the table and lit a fire under them. 鈥淗e was an orchestrator, cheerleader, and bulldog when he needed to be. He was on the phone as many as 10 times a day with Visit Denver to urge them to get this figured out,鈥 Gart says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a big-time deal.鈥
Nordstrom points out that Benitez鈥 official post with the state was also essential. 鈥淚n the absence of that outdoor czar position, it鈥檚 hard to say that Colorado would have had that focal point to have gotten the deal done.鈥 Colorado, Utah, and Washington already have state directors of outdoor recreation, with several others expected to join their ranks soon. Vermont to bolster outdoor rec opportunities, and North Carolina within the state鈥檚 Commerce Department. Just yesterday, the Oregon legislature in that state. With the clout shown by Benitez in Colorado to land OR, more are sure to follow.
Benitez, 44, is the son of an Ecuadorian aerospace engineer and an American primary school art teacher. He grew up in St. Louis, where he spent most days after school stocking shelves in the outdoor shop his grandfather owned for almost 40 years. In high school, he spent his weekends camping and rock climbing in the Ozarks, and in college started working for Outward Bound, where he loved teaching climbing and mountaineering but even more so the school鈥檚 emphasis on personal growth and empowerment.
鈥淲e like to tease Luis, because he is so earnest鈥 says Erik Weihenmayer, a blind climber whom Benitez guided to the summit of Everest in 2001 and has since partnered with on 10 different expeditions. 鈥淗e鈥檚 got a very nurturing side that most mountaineers seem to lack.鈥 The Weihenmayer expedition helped launch his seven summits guiding career and also ushered him into the orbit of big business鈥攊n the go-go 2000s it wasn鈥檛 unusual for him to travel to training climbs with his CEO clients on their private jets.
By 2006, Benitez had worked himself into the role of director of operations for New Zealand-based mountaineering company 国产吃瓜黑料 Consultants, and had notched more than 20 ascents on the seven summits. The events of September 30 at Cho Oyu basecamp in Tibet would alter the course of his guiding career, however. On that day, Chinese border guards opened fire on a group of 75 Tibetans fleeing over Nangpa La pass into Nepal, killing 17-year old nun Kunsang Namgyal and arresting a dozen more, mostly children, who couldn鈥檛 make the border.
Though at least 100 western climbers and guides witnessed the event, Benitez was the only one to speak up, penning a blog post via satellite. A few other guides were furious, telling Benitez that he was putting everyone鈥檚 permits at risk. One, he says, told him, 鈥淚f I were you, I鈥檇 get out of town.鈥
Benitez resigned his post as 国产吃瓜黑料 Consultants GM, realizing he鈥檇 now hold the company back. 鈥淚 was shocked at the ethics of the guiding community,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hat wasn鈥檛 the way I came up guiding at Outward Bound.鈥 He later testified about the incident in front of the Spanish Supreme court, which brought crimes against humanity charges against the Chinese President.
鈥淟uis has a proven moral compass, based on his teaching work and on blowing the whistle in Tibet,鈥 says former Black Diamond CEO Peter Metcalf. 鈥淗e鈥檚 also used to organizing military style assaults on peaks, meaning he has proven leadership experience.鈥 It鈥檚 no surprise, he says, that he has landed OR鈥攈e has the industry鈥檚 best interests in mind, and represents the right state. 鈥淚 really applaud their efforts,鈥 says Metcalf. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a useful example in contrast to Utah. With all its oil and gas development, Colorado isn鈥檛 an immaculately-conceived state on these issues. Hickenlooper has figured out a very difficult middle path between energy development and land protection. Hopefully Utah will get there soon.鈥
Metcalf has been spending a lot of time talking to businesspeople and political people about what really transpired in the fight over OR in Utah. 鈥淢y heart goes out to those in Salt Lake who bent over backwards to accommodate and support OR over the years. The majority of the state doesn鈥檛 understand what they鈥檝e lost,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he trade show is the tip of an iceberg for the outdoor industry in Utah. We have a massive ski industry, and a huge number of outdoor equipment manufacturers who will continue to fight for public lands.鈥
Metcalf was the primary driver behind Outdoor Retailer鈥檚 exodus from Utah.聽In the fall of 2016, Metcalf had retired from Black Diamond and taken a position as director of the Salt Lake City Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. The Obama administration had just created Bears Ears National Monument. The backlash from the Utah delegation was fierce. Metcalf attended a December press conference in Salt Lake City where the governor and entire Utah delegation to Washington declared their intention to do everything in their power to block the new monument. 鈥淚t was an all out war on the monument and the public lands, and I thought 鈥榚nough is enough,鈥欌 says Metcalf.
Over the holidays, Metcalf began formulating his plan to use the Outdoor retailer show for leverage in the fight for public lands. 鈥淭he goal was never to take the show from Utah,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t was to put some backbone into the outdoor industry.鈥
On January 10, on the opening day of the Winter Outdoor Retailer Trade show, Metcalf published an op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune calling for the show to leave Utah if the state鈥檚 leaders didn鈥檛 change their stance. 鈥淲e should respond with our dollars, with our conventioneers, with our money, and take this show to a state that is much more aligned with our values,鈥 he wrote. Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard followed with his own salvo, but Utah Governor Gary Herbert seemed unmoved. On February 3, he signed a bill asking President Trump to rescind Bears Ears, and Patagonia announced its boycott. Arc鈥檛eryx followed suit, as did a half dozen others.
On February 16鈥攁fter a contentious phone call with Governor Herbert鈥 the Outdoor Industry Association and Emerald Salt Lake City after the summer 2017 show. Colorado, led by Benitez, had begun to strategize about landing the show as early as mid-January. 鈥淢y initial instinct was that OR should stay and fight, but when it became obvious that Utah鈥檚 leadership won鈥檛 budge, it made sense to get the ball rolling,鈥 say Benitez. He encouraged governor Hickenlooper to . 鈥淲e need more public lands, not less,鈥 he said at the time.
Denver wasn鈥檛 the only city that wanted OR. Portland, Reno, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Indianapolis submitted bids to hold the show. What really worried industry leaders, though, were the bids of cities like Orlando, Las Vegas, and Anaheim, California鈥攁ll of which have huge convention centers but very little interest or regard for the outdoor industry culture or its budding political aspirations.
That鈥檚 when Benitez began pulling strings with industry players like Gart and Nordstrom. When they realized that Emerald was about to that would eventually net them $264 million, it seemed the danger was real that Emerald would go to the highest bidder. He convinced Nordstrom and a few other CEOs to that might help sway the show to Denver. 鈥淒enver is unique on the current list of possible venues in having both a central travel hub as well as the outdoor recreation assets vital to the formula that has made the show so successful during its tenure in Utah,鈥 they . The subtext, says Nordstrom, was that it was a message to Wall Street聽analysts that if Emerald went with short term profits over long term viability, a chunk of their business might soon whither.
Five months and countless hours later, the work paid off and Benitez has big plans for the show. One possibility is open聽the trade show up to the public on the last day. Another is to increase public participation in the political and cultural events that go on behind closed doors at the event. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to see a sort of OR University that addresses issues like how to run a business, sustainable manufacturing, trade issues,鈥 he says. 鈥淲e need to incubate the next generation of Chouinards and Metcalfs.鈥 The show should also invigorate conversations about inclusivity, climate change, and public lands he says. 鈥淭hese issues are so important we need all the participation we can get.鈥
That sort of big-tent thinking has inevitably spawned musings about a future political career for Benitez amongst some of his allies, including a possible turn as Colorado鈥檚 next Lieutenant Governor. Gart, for one, likes his principles. 鈥淟uis represents standing for something. He is open to working with motorsports community and the fly fishing community alike because he is so passionate. Willing to drive halfway across the state to give a speech and then drive back.鈥
鈥淗e鈥檚 a mountaineer,鈥 Says Mark Udall, the former Colorado Senator and Benitez鈥 boss when he was executive director of Colorado Outward Bound. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 climb a mountain by being a pessimist. One of the most important things in politics is a sense of optimism, and he has that.鈥澛