Photo by Chad Zavala

Changes are afoot. A 373-acre parcel of land in the Wasatch mountains is under consideration to exchange hands from Great Western Mining to the non-profit Wasatch Canyons Foundation, which will donate the parcel to the U.S. Forest Service for public use. The move would set aside a substantial amount of property in the upper Wasatch range for conservation, but the catalyst behind the deal floods downtown Salt Lake City twice a year: the Outdoor Retailer convention.

OR brought more than 24,000 people into the valley for its summer 2012 convention, which pumps substantial cash into Salt Lake’s economy. Each attendee spends about $950 during their trip — boosting Utah’s economy by $40 million annually. There is an issue, though — Salt Lake City is struggling to find enough beds for all the convention-goers.

To strike the deal, the Wasatch Canyons Foundation needed the help of the U. OR maxes out the capacity of downtown hotels, so OR administrators are looking for 1,000 beds on campus to relieve the pressure on a strained downtown. Furthermore, OR will look to Salt Lake residents to host 6,500 to 7,500 guests.

“Outdoor Retailer loves the city of Salt Lake,” says Liz Crawford, senior marketing director for Outdoor Retailer. “We love the venue. We love the access to the outdoors. At the end of the day, the hotel room situation is still very tight. We are always looking for more options outside of the city in outlying areas, and looking constantly for more rooms.”

Finding beds is important because of OR’s effect on the local economy. The convention started in the summer of 1982 and brings thousands of people into town twice a year to check out and show off the latest and greatest in outdoor gear and innovation. The event lasts four days with an additional day of demos in the mountains and lakes of the Wasatch. People pour into the valley from all over the country to work and play, patronizing local hotels, restaurants, and bars in the process.

OR offers 26 hotel options located anywhere from Park City to downtown and Sandy. This year, two more options will be added: the University Guest House and Heritage Commons.

Offering between 800 and 1,000 additional beds, the Guest House will help ease the constraints of housing for this year’s summer market, which will be taking place July 31 through Aug. 3.

The new addition of housing is considered a convenient option as it is located only 10 minutes by car from the Salt Palace Convention Center. Patrons of the Guest House will have access to the U’s amenities including free Wi-Fi, dining services, and access to the foothills with miles of hiking and mountain biking trails.

Perry Hacker, University Guest House director, says the 10-minute drive from the U instead of the 10-minute walk downtown or 30-minute drive from Sandy is a good option for show attendees, and certainly a better option than staying in Provo or Ogden when they are not able to get a hotel in the valley.

Besides, isn’t the “outdoor crowd” used to sparse amenities and simple shelter?

“There are a lot of people who would go camping while they’re here or don’t need fancy accommodations,” Hacker says. “There’s some grassroots companies, there’s some bigger companies, but they all have a sense of the outdoors and roughing it sometimes.”

Attendees staying at the U won’t enjoy immediate proximity to the dining and nightlife downtown, nor are they walking distance to the Salt Palace. To accommodate this, OR plans to provide a free shuttle between campus and the Salt Palace, and a TRAX stop sits within walking distance of all U housing.

During the winter show in January, OR staff visited the Guest House and were excited about what they saw and the possibility of a housing option agreement. Crawford says they are pleased with the arrangement and want to make this inexpensive option work for everyone.

Running at $50 per bed per night, attendees will have the option of reserving one bed and being paired with a roommate or reserving up to four beds in a suite. Those involved say the option is great for companies who don’t need fancy accommodations or might not have the budget to spring for them.

“[It is] great for independent retailers or reps, small exhibitors who have smaller teams or who can put 4 people in a suite,” Crawford says. “There are retailers that bring families, and there are retailers that bring two or three people for their business. I think it’s ideal for those types of companies.”

The deal provides a fringe benefit for students. Hacker says the money generated from the U’s housing agreement with OR will help keep student housing costs down.

“It’s a great time for our conference program because it’s the summer and we’re wrapping things up, so it gives us a revenue boost. The money that the U makes through our conference program goes to keep student costs down, especially for residence hall students,” Hacker says.

In addition to revenue, the university will also get exposure from the arrangement and recognition as a community partner from people across the country.

“When Salt Lake City has a need, the university [contributes] in many ways,” Hacker says. “We provide museums, libraries, open space and this gives us an opportunity to provide Salt Lake with a huge group [of beds] that has a huge economic impact on the city.”

While there is discussion about building a new hotel near downtown with room to spare, Outdoor Retailer and the U are committed to making the arrangement work for everyone involved in the meantime.

“There’s a lot of variables with building a new hotel with a lot of rooms,” Crawford says. “We know it’s a priority for the city and the state to look into that. They are 100 percent on board. Because our constituents, retailers, exhibitors and brands … love the outdoor access. It’s affordable, the community, and the city are so welcoming to our attendees.

“We’re definitely in support of the housing at the U,” Crawford says. “With all the amenities and affordability we’re really hoping it will work and be successful so we can keep engaged with this for future years.”

Outdoor Retailer will continue to come to Salt Lake City through summer 2016 when the contract will come under review again. Prior to the contract being renewed, the common sentiment was that the convention would bolt to Denver or Las Vegas. While the Outdoor Retailers Association butted heads with Gov. Gary Herbert over his land use policies, a key reason the show was going to leave was a lack of hotel rooms in the downtown area.

In the new deal the U helped facilitate, OR gets the housing it wanted and land conservation will be a much-welcomed side effect of the arrangement. Both of these benefits could help keep the OR show in Salt Lake for years to come.