SHOT Show 2008 Opens

Industry trade shows that survive into their third decade are generally living on past victories, with their best days and biggest crowds receding into memory. Someone apparently forgot to tell that to the nearly 2,000 exhibitors and 40,000-plus attendees that are expected to pour into the Las Vegas Convention Center today as the 2008 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show opens. This year’s gathering will mark the 30th year for the SHOT Show. And it will no doubt be the biggest one yet.

“We are expecting the largest show in the history of the SHOT Show, which is a great way to celebrate its thirtieth year,” says Doug Painter, president of the National Sporting Sports Foundation. “We have about nineteen hundred exhibitors, including hundreds of first-time exhibitors. That’s an indication that our marketplace continues to grow.”

The 2008 show will swallow more than 715,000 square feet of the Las Vegas Convention Center. That’s 16½ acres, another benchmark of the show’s longevity.

“We’ll have more than sixty thousand additional square feet than last year,” Painter says. “That is extraordinary for a mature show.”

Attendees and exhibitors will find plenty to do and see while canvassing acres and acres of shooting and hunting gear. The 2008 show will also host 12 seminars—seven for retailers and five for law enforcement—from noon until 1 p.m.

during the show’s first three days. The seminars are free and preregistration isn’t required. Attendees, exhibitors and guests can come and go as they please. Painter added that tonight’s State of the Industry Gala is geared toward a special celebration of the show’s 30th year. The evening includes a cocktail reception sponsored by Ducks Unlimited, followed by dinner and the State of the Industry multimedia presentation. The evening will be capped by a performance by Randy Travis, sponsored by Versus Country.