Association purchases General Sports Shows
National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) has acquired General Sports Shows, Inc., and the four annual Midwest shows the company produces, the two organizations announced today.
Joining NMMA’s Boat Shows calendar are the Minneapolis Boat Show, Northwest Sportshow, Kansas City Sportshow and Des Moines Sportshow. NMMA now produces 22 boat shows across North America every year.
“David Perkins and his team have done a tremendous job at developing these four shows into successful events, and they are great additions to NMMA’s boat show calendar,” says NMMA president Thom Dammrich. “With our popular Chicago Boat, RV & Outdoors Show and the St. Louis Boat & Sports Show, we now have six great events to introduce boating to consumers in the Midwest.”
The Kansas City and Des Moines Sportshows will be produced out of NMMA’s St. Louis office, led by NMMA Mid-South Regional Manager Mark Adams and Show Manager Gerry Mulcahy. NMMA’s headquarter office in Chicago will produce the Minneapolis Boat Show and Northwest Sportshow, under the supervision of Central Regional Manager Jennifer Faulk. Regional sales offices will be maintained in Minneapolis and Kansas City.
“I’m excited for the NMMA. They are a strong organization with a long history of producing boat and sport shows across the country. The NMMA will bring new ideas to the Boat Show and Sport Shows, while maintaining the rich traditions that have made these events so great for the exhibitor and visitor alike,” says Perkins.
The dates and locations for NMMA’s four new shows are:
33rd Minneapolis Boat Show – Minneapolis Convention Center – January 19-23, 2005
73rd Northwest Sportshow – Minneapolis Convention Center – March 29 – April 3, 2005
51st Kansas City Sportshow – Bartle Hall – January 4-9, 2005
63rd Des Moines Sportshow – Iowa State Fairgrounds – February 16-20, 2005
General Sports Shows is a 72-year old Minneapolis-based consumer show management company specializing in producing premier outdoor recreation product and services expositions.
National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) is the leading association representing the recreational boating industry. NMMA member companies produce over 80 percent of the boats, engines, trailers, accessories and gear used by boaters and anglers in the United States. The association is dedicated to industry growth through programs in public policy, market research and data, product quality assurance and marketing communications.
By: Dan Green, NMMA Staff
