Outdoor show: Economic loss will be devastating in Harrisburg region

Postponement of the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show means a huge economic loss for the Harrisburg area.

"It's financially devastating. It's one of the highest-volume weeks of the year for us," said Doug Krick, owner of Dodge City Restaurant. Krick's restaurant is located within two miles of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, where the event had been scheduled to run Feb. 2-10.

Donny Brown, owner of the FireHouse Restaurant in downtown Harrisburg said: "That week, we sell more steaks than in any other week of the year. … It's one of the (events) that doesn't have just one or two good nights, it has a week of good nights."

The 61-year-old event was postponed Thursday following a boycott by hundreds of vendors upset by the show organizer's decision to ban the sale of assault rifles and high-volume ammunition magazines.

The organizer, Reed Exhibitions, hadn't publicly discussed the situation as of Thursday afternoon, or rescheduled the show.

The nine-day event draws hundreds of thousands of people. Local tourism officials say it generates $44 million, and that figure doesn't count things such as gasoline sales. David Black, president of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber, put the overall economic figure at $80 million, which he called a "conservative" estimate.

"The magnitude of the sports and outdoor show -- you'll never match it," said Randy Stuart, general manager of the Holiday Inn Harrisburg East. He said the event typically fills more than 2,000 rooms at his hotel and two affiliated hotels in Hershey and Grantville, accounting for about $220,000 worth of business. It further fills the hotel restaurant, and provides work for extra room attendants and van drivers, Stuart said.

Stuart and others stressed that the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show generates more business than almost any other local event, including the Pennsylvania Farm Show, held at the same venue.

The Farm Show, while drawing huge crowds for a week, attracts many who make day trips or commute from home and don't stay in hotels. And since the Farm Show's Food Court is a huge attraction, fewer people eat out at local restaurants, they said. With the sports and outdoor show, vendors and show attendees are known for dining out. "They are hearty eaters. They like to go out to a good dinner and they generally go out every night of the week," Krick said.

Brown, of the FireHouse, said the increase in his sales is substantial enough that it will hurt his suppliers, such as those who supply him with beef.

The Comfort Inn on Front Street in Harrisburg received word of the postponement late Thursday morning. "We were sold out and the phone has been ringing off the hook with cancelations. That's not a good thing," said Teresa Westbrook, a front desk employee.

The main rival of the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, in terms of economic impact, is probably the Pennsylvania Horse Show, held in the fall, according to local hotel and restaurant operators. But the beauty of the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show is that it's normally held in February, when most of the region's other major tourist attractions are hibernating. And because it's indoors, weather rarely interfered, they said. "For 50 years, we've counted on this," said Stuart, the hotel general manager.

The Staybridge Suites Harrisburg-Hershey is across the street from the site of the show. In an email, sales director Janet Rozzi said the show is one of the hotel's top three revenue generators among events held at the Farm Show Complex, and "exhibitors stay 10 or more nights with us while we are their home away from home, and they become like family."

Krick, of Dodge City Restaurant, noted that a restaurant is different than a store in that when an event causes loss of business, people don't come back later because they still need the goods. His point is that restaurant operators can't recoup the business lost if the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show isn't held.