Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo C2E2 + April16-18, 2010 + McCormick Place

[mamatsch]

be great for someone to compile all this information and contact Reed with it. If someone needs an email address let me know (not just a customer service rep).

 

Lots of great information, and IMO, Reed 'handled' the show better than Wizard has in the past few years. Not to say they could not improve, and I would not be suprised to see them reevaluate and make changes for the better, unlike Wizard, who continues to use the same procedures each and every year with no tweaks...

 

Just a thought...

 

I definitely second that. I made a few inquiries before the show and they were very responsive - makes me hopeful that they will actually make improvements

[Pirate]

be great for someone to compile all this information and contact Reed with it. If someone needs an email address let me know (not just a customer service rep).

 

Lots of great information, and IMO, Reed 'handled' the show better than Wizard has in the past few years. Not to say they could not improve, and I would not be suprised to see them reevaluate and make changes for the better, unlike Wizard, who continues to use the same procedures each and every year with no tweaks...

 

Just a thought...

 

I'm sure yodude is reading this.

[TheWatcher]

He is. He sent me a PM a few days ago responding to my comments and suggestions in this thread. Reed is listening and I'm fairly confident there will be positive changes for next year's C2E2

[aardvark88]

Watcher/Ang,

How is the transit system around Schaumburg, IL and is O'hare the closest airport to that city?

[TheWatcher]

No public transportation to Schaumburg from O'Hare, unfortunately, but the city does have a public trans infrastructure. It's about the same distance from O'Hare as McCormick Place. There are taxi services from O'Hare to Schaumburg

 

http://www.airwayshuttletaxi.com/

 

http://www.schaumburgtaxi.us/rates/flatrates.html

 

 

O'Hare is the closest airport, yes

 

 

[Prince Namor]

He is. He sent me a PM a few days ago responding to my comments and suggestions in this thread. Reed is listening and I'm fairly confident there will be positive changes for next year's C2E2

 

Great. Because there was a LOT about this show that made it a fun experience, most notably the amount of industry talent that was there.

It was my first convention visit to Chicago in 14 years, because of all of the comic creators showing up.

I'm still a little annoyed about the uselessness of my VIP purchase, but I still look forward to C2E2 2011.

[Dale Roberts]

Just a few thoughts from what I have observed.

 

I thought the sun was great. It makes the room feel more alive and definitely a welcome change to being in a basement somewhere. As a vintage comic buyer the lighting in the room was spectacular and most welcome.

 

Really the two main factors that are consistently coming up are cost and location.

 

As far as costs go, I'm wondering what sort of concessions collectors are willing to make to save costs. The room was 1st class. It was bright, plush with red carpets over the entire room, lots of choices in food (as far as con fare goes) and lots of aisle space.

 

I understand it takes $200K+ to carpet a room like this and $40-50K to simply carpet the front entrance. The costs are astronomical to do a con. Parking in any big city is going to be a killer so I'd say $19 is not out of the norm (we pay $15 in Toronto). Finding a cheaper location may not be difficult but then you get the complaints about how cold, dark and uncomfortable the room is. The reality is that you can't have a nice room and have it cheap. Would people prefer no carpeting and a cheaper venue?

 

As far as location, it was decent...very similar feel to NYC cons in that you need a cab to get to anything...but I guess when trying to compare it to WW in Rosemont there is no comparison as the WW show is like a self contained little city in itself.

 

I definitely loved being able to take a 10 minute cab into Chicago for some night life (it's a $45 cab ride from Rosemont) but the sense of community seems to be much better in Rosemont because it's so self contained.

 

I kind of like the C2E2 ring. I thought it was original and simple which are two important factors when choosing a catchy name.

 

 

Here are my thoughts on it from a dealer perspective.

 

No chance there were as many customers as claimed in the hall.

 

Put Comic in the name. Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo is fine. C2E2 sounds like some Star Wars droid. No one who hears it thinks comics. They think ....huh???

 

As much as I love the hall, move to Rosemont when the opportunity presents itself. Take the entire Rosemont center and make it a monster like the Reed NY show. All of the very convenient hotels and the proximity to the airport just make it too good of a location to pass up.

 

Get Stan Lee, Todd McFarlane, and whoever else would be a great guest. Alex Ross is a nice guest, but honestly he is a 2nd tier name at this point. If you want people to come out, give them a reason.

 

The hall was fantastic and the lighting was good except in the afternoons. I don't think anything can be done about it.

 

Get rid of assisted load in and load out. There is no reason for it. Just let us all pull in the back of the hall, unload our and stay out of our way. We do it all over the country, we can do it here too.

 

Drop the booth prices until you can provide the dealers with a money making opportunity. You can't charge as much for a Chicago show as you can for a NY show unless you are going to provide the same profit making opportunities.

 

 

[SharpComics.com]

Just a few thoughts from what I have observed.

 

I thought the sun was great. It makes the room feel more alive and definitely a welcome change to being in a basement somewhere. As a vintage comic buyer the lighting in the room was spectacular and most welcome.

 

Really the two main factors that are consistently coming up are cost and location.

 

As far as costs go, I'm wondering what sort of concessions collectors are willing to make to save costs. The room was 1st class. It was bright, plush with red carpets over the entire room, lots of choices in food (as far as con fare goes) and lots of aisle space.

 

I understand it takes $200K+ to carpet a room like this and $40-50K to simply carpet the front entrance. The costs are astronomical to do a con. Parking in any big city is going to be a killer so I'd say $19 is not out of the norm (we pay $15 in Toronto). Finding a cheaper location may not be difficult but then you get the complaints about how cold, dark and uncomfortable the room is. The reality is that you can't have a nice room and have it cheap. Would people prefer no carpeting and a cheaper venue?

 

As far as location, it was decent...very similar feel to NYC cons in that you need a cab to get to anything...but I guess when trying to compare it to WW in Rosemont there is no comparison as the WW show is like a self contained little city in itself.

 

I definitely loved being able to take a 10 minute cab into Chicago for some night life (it's a $45 cab ride from Rosemont) but the sense of community seems to be much better in Rosemont because it's so self contained.

 

I kind of like the C2E2 ring. I thought it was original and simple which are two important factors when choosing a catchy name.

 

 

Here are my thoughts on it from a dealer perspective.

 

No chance there were as many customers as claimed in the hall.

 

Put Comic in the name. Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo is fine. C2E2 sounds like some Star Wars droid. No one who hears it thinks comics. They think ....huh???

 

As much as I love the hall, move to Rosemont when the opportunity presents itself. Take the entire Rosemont center and make it a monster like the Reed NY show. All of the very convenient hotels and the proximity to the airport just make it too good of a location to pass up.

 

Get Stan Lee, Todd McFarlane, and whoever else would be a great guest. Alex Ross is a nice guest, but honestly he is a 2nd tier name at this point. If you want people to come out, give them a reason.

 

The hall was fantastic and the lighting was good except in the afternoons. I don't think anything can be done about it.

 

Get rid of assisted load in and load out. There is no reason for it. Just let us all pull in the back of the hall, unload our and stay out of our way. We do it all over the country, we can do it here too.

 

Drop the booth prices until you can provide the dealers with a money making opportunity. You can't charge as much for a Chicago show as you can for a NY show unless you are going to provide the same profit making opportunities.

 

 

I concur. Dale is currently READING MY MIND

[Foolkiller]

Just a few thoughts from what I have observed.

 

I thought the sun was great. It makes the room feel more alive and definitely a welcome change to being in a basement somewhere. As a vintage comic buyer the lighting in the room was spectacular and most welcome.

 

Really the two main factors that are consistently coming up are cost and location.

 

As far as costs go, I'm wondering what sort of concessions collectors are willing to make to save costs. The room was 1st class. It was bright, plush with red carpets over the entire room, lots of choices in food (as far as con fare goes) and lots of aisle space.

 

I understand it takes $200K+ to carpet a room like this and $40-50K to simply carpet the front entrance. The costs are astronomical to do a con. Parking in any big city is going to be a killer so I'd say $19 is not out of the norm (we pay $15 in Toronto). Finding a cheaper location may not be difficult but then you get the complaints about how cold, dark and uncomfortable the room is. The reality is that you can't have a nice room and have it cheap. Would people prefer no carpeting and a cheaper venue?

 

As far as location, it was decent...very similar feel to NYC cons in that you need a cab to get to anything...but I guess when trying to compare it to WW in Rosemont there is no comparison as the WW show is like a self contained little city in itself.

 

I definitely loved being able to take a 10 minute cab into Chicago for some night life (it's a $45 cab ride from Rosemont) but the sense of community seems to be much better in Rosemont because it's so self contained.

 

I kind of like the C2E2 ring. I thought it was original and simple which are two important factors when choosing a catchy name.

 

 

Here are my thoughts on it from a dealer perspective.

 

No chance there were as many customers as claimed in the hall.

 

Put Comic in the name. Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo is fine. C2E2 sounds like some Star Wars droid. No one who hears it thinks comics. They think ....huh???

 

As much as I love the hall, move to Rosemont when the opportunity presents itself. Take the entire Rosemont center and make it a monster like the Reed NY show. All of the very convenient hotels and the proximity to the airport just make it too good of a location to pass up.

 

Get Stan Lee, Todd McFarlane, and whoever else would be a great guest. Alex Ross is a nice guest, but honestly he is a 2nd tier name at this point. If you want people to come out, give them a reason.

 

The hall was fantastic and the lighting was good except in the afternoons. I don't think anything can be done about it.

 

Get rid of assisted load in and load out. There is no reason for it. Just let us all pull in the back of the hall, unload our and stay out of our way. We do it all over the country, we can do it here too.

 

Drop the booth prices until you can provide the dealers with a money making opportunity. You can't charge as much for a Chicago show as you can for a NY show unless you are going to provide the same profit making opportunities.

 

 

I totally disagree with moving to Rosemont, and I hope they keep it in downtown Chicago.

[Mike Bray]

Just a few thoughts from what I have observed.

 

I thought the sun was great. It makes the room feel more alive and definitely a welcome change to being in a basement somewhere. As a vintage comic buyer the lighting in the room was spectacular and most welcome.

 

Really the two main factors that are consistently coming up are cost and location.

 

As far as costs go, I'm wondering what sort of concessions collectors are willing to make to save costs. The room was 1st class. It was bright, plush with red carpets over the entire room, lots of choices in food (as far as con fare goes) and lots of aisle space.

 

I understand it takes $200K+ to carpet a room like this and $40-50K to simply carpet the front entrance. The costs are astronomical to do a con. Parking in any big city is going to be a killer so I'd say $19 is not out of the norm (we pay $15 in Toronto). Finding a cheaper location may not be difficult but then you get the complaints about how cold, dark and uncomfortable the room is. The reality is that you can't have a nice room and have it cheap. Would people prefer no carpeting and a cheaper venue?

 

As far as location, it was decent...very similar feel to NYC cons in that you need a cab to get to anything...but I guess when trying to compare it to WW in Rosemont there is no comparison as the WW show is like a self contained little city in itself.

 

I definitely loved being able to take a 10 minute cab into Chicago for some night life (it's a $45 cab ride from Rosemont) but the sense of community seems to be much better in Rosemont because it's so self contained.

 

I kind of like the C2E2 ring. I thought it was original and simple which are two important factors when choosing a catchy name.

 

 

Here are my thoughts on it from a dealer perspective.

 

No chance there were as many customers as claimed in the hall.

 

Put Comic in the name. Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo is fine. C2E2 sounds like some Star Wars droid. No one who hears it thinks comics. They think ....huh???

 

As much as I love the hall, move to Rosemont when the opportunity presents itself. Take the entire Rosemont center and make it a monster like the Reed NY show. All of the very convenient hotels and the proximity to the airport just make it too good of a location to pass up.

 

Get Stan Lee, Todd McFarlane, and whoever else would be a great guest. Alex Ross is a nice guest, but honestly he is a 2nd tier name at this point. If you want people to come out, give them a reason.

 

The hall was fantastic and the lighting was good except in the afternoons. I don't think anything can be done about it.

 

Get rid of assisted load in and load out. There is no reason for it. Just let us all pull in the back of the hall, unload our and stay out of our way. We do it all over the country, we can do it here too.

 

Drop the booth prices until you can provide the dealers with a money making opportunity. You can't charge as much for a Chicago show as you can for a NY show unless you are going to provide the same profit making opportunities.

 

 

I totally disagree with moving to Rosemont, and I hope they keep it in downtown Chicago.

almost 20 years of going to the Rosemont area and nothing bad ever happened -- 1`st downtown con - 4 of us in cargo vans get out spare tires jacked on Sat. night while in the parking garage .........

[Pirate]

Just a few thoughts from what I have observed.

 

I thought the sun was great. It makes the room feel more alive and definitely a welcome change to being in a basement somewhere. As a vintage comic buyer the lighting in the room was spectacular and most welcome.

 

Really the two main factors that are consistently coming up are cost and location.

 

As far as costs go, I'm wondering what sort of concessions collectors are willing to make to save costs. The room was 1st class. It was bright, plush with red carpets over the entire room, lots of choices in food (as far as con fare goes) and lots of aisle space.

 

I understand it takes $200K+ to carpet a room like this and $40-50K to simply carpet the front entrance. The costs are astronomical to do a con. Parking in any big city is going to be a killer so I'd say $19 is not out of the norm (we pay $15 in Toronto). Finding a cheaper location may not be difficult but then you get the complaints about how cold, dark and uncomfortable the room is. The reality is that you can't have a nice room and have it cheap. Would people prefer no carpeting and a cheaper venue?

 

As far as location, it was decent...very similar feel to NYC cons in that you need a cab to get to anything...but I guess when trying to compare it to WW in Rosemont there is no comparison as the WW show is like a self contained little city in itself.

 

I definitely loved being able to take a 10 minute cab into Chicago for some night life (it's a $45 cab ride from Rosemont) but the sense of community seems to be much better in Rosemont because it's so self contained.

 

I kind of like the C2E2 ring. I thought it was original and simple which are two important factors when choosing a catchy name.

 

 

Here are my thoughts on it from a dealer perspective.

 

No chance there were as many customers as claimed in the hall.

 

Put Comic in the name. Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo is fine. C2E2 sounds like some Star Wars droid. No one who hears it thinks comics. They think ....huh???

 

As much as I love the hall, move to Rosemont when the opportunity presents itself. Take the entire Rosemont center and make it a monster like the Reed NY show. All of the very convenient hotels and the proximity to the airport just make it too good of a location to pass up.

 

Get Stan Lee, Todd McFarlane, and whoever else would be a great guest. Alex Ross is a nice guest, but honestly he is a 2nd tier name at this point. If you want people to come out, give them a reason.

 

The hall was fantastic and the lighting was good except in the afternoons. I don't think anything can be done about it.

 

Get rid of assisted load in and load out. There is no reason for it. Just let us all pull in the back of the hall, unload our and stay out of our way. We do it all over the country, we can do it here too.

 

Drop the booth prices until you can provide the dealers with a money making opportunity. You can't charge as much for a Chicago show as you can for a NY show unless you are going to provide the same profit making opportunities.

 

 

I totally disagree with moving to Rosemont, and I hope they keep it in downtown Chicago.

almost 20 years of going to the Rosemont area and nothing bad ever happened -- 1`st downtown con - 4 of us in cargo vans get out spare tires jacked on Sat. night while in the parking garage .........

 

I would much rather go to rosemont twice a year, but I'm not a downtown bar scene person.

[Shark]

For those who haven't seen it yet, I started a "Where should C2E2 2011 be held?" poll. Here's the link:

 

C2E2 2011 Poll

[Foolkiller]

For me, I prefer the hotels downtown, the restaurants, the night life, the culture etc. I really love Chicago as a city, and while the con is the main part of why I go, I like to have access to as much of what a city has to offer. In Rosement, it's a long cabride down town and other than Gibson's and a few deep dish places, there are few food options. It's all chain stuff. I think the hotels are adequate but there are much nicer ones down town. For me, it's more about the entire experience than just the show.

[bryan91]

For me, I prefer the hotels downtown, the restaurants, the night life, the culture etc. I really love Chicago as a city, and while the con is the main part of why I go, I like to have access to as much of what a city has to offer. In Rosement, it's a long cabride down town and other than Gibson's and a few deep dish places, there are few food options. It's all chain stuff. I think the hotels are adequate but there are much nicer ones down town. For me, it's more about the entire experience than just the show.

 

+1

[VintageComics]

I agree with Brian in that the town of Chicago was gorgeous and I would much prefer easy access to the town. We had a blast there.

 

I am willing to concede though that what is important here is what is best for everybody and the show needs to make money or there will be no show.

 

 

[comiccitytn]

move the show away from downtown, get rid of the union bull . listen to the people that do it for a living, I'm glad the fans had a great time but if you dont have dealers you dont have a show.

[aardvark88]

The main problem is any large convention hall or hotel chain has union labor (to set up tables, chairs, wall displays) and union contracts (e.g. laying down carpet).

[Blind Owl]

For me, I prefer the hotels downtown, the restaurants, the night life, the culture etc. I really love Chicago as a city, and while the con is the main part of why I go, I like to have access to as much of what a city has to offer. In Rosement, it's a long cabride down town and other than Gibson's and a few deep dish places, there are few food options. It's all chain stuff. I think the hotels are adequate but there are much nicer ones down town. For me, it's more about the entire experience than just the show.

 

Wow!!! someone here feels like I do...

 

As a matter of fact for the record...even if the con is at Rosemont I will STILL stay near downtown....and just travel to the con..and then have fun when it is over Downtown...

 

I remember about two years ago...I told Watcher i would be staying at the Belden-Stratford which is near Lincoln Park..and Angelo said what for...and I told him because I plan on having some fun AFTER the con, and the Stratford is my favorite hotel in Chicago... and don't want to stay near the airport...with NO entertainment options afterward...

 

I didn't go to C2E2...but if i did..I wouldn't stay anywhere near McCormick place either....I'd be on the North side of the Chicago river...but that's just me....

[capt_comics]

For me, I prefer the hotels downtown, the restaurants, the night life, the culture etc. I really love Chicago as a city, and while the con is the main part of why I go, I like to have access to as much of what a city has to offer. In Rosement, it's a long cabride down town and other than Gibson's and a few deep dish places, there are few food options. It's all chain stuff. I think the hotels are adequate but there are much nicer ones down town. For me, it's more about the entire experience than just the show.

 

Wow!!! someone here feels like I do...

 

As a matter of fact for the record...even if the con is at Rosemont I will STILL stay near downtown....and just travel to the con..and then have fun when it is over Downtown...

 

I remember about two years ago...I told Watcher i would be staying at the Belden-Stratford which is near Lincoln Park..and Angelo said what for...and I told him because I plan on having some fun AFTER the con, and the Stratford is my favorite hotel in Chicago... and don't want to stay near the airport...with NO entertainment options afterward...

 

I didn't go to C2E2...but if i did..I wouldn't stay anywhere near McCormick place either....I'd be on the North side of the Chicago river...but that's just me....

 

Snob

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Foolkiller]

move the show away from downtown, get rid of the union bull . listen to the people that do it for a living, I'm glad the fans had a great time but if you dont have dealers you dont have a show.

 

That depends on which fans you are talking about. For people like me who want to buy vintage yes, what you say is true. For the fans who wanted to go to the show and enjoy artists etc., well, I think they don't care about most of the vintage guys or comic dealers. It's an increasing trend I see at "comic shows". I don't know the experience that the other vendors and exhibitors had beyond the comics guys.

 

A lot of shows seem to suffer from getting bilked by the "forced" help. In Rosemont, that's not an issue, and I appreciate that.

 

That being said, this is pretty dealer heavy commentary, and if there's money in the room, you guys will do what you have to do. I believe long term, the money will be in having it down town. This year, not so much.