Icing on the Cake
Hockey Expo Buyers Heading for Mandalay Bay
December 3, 2010

Exhibitors at the Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show may notice an uptick in aisle traffic on Wednesday, January 19th. While most buyers will be wrapping up their business by Day Three, an entirely new group of attendees will just be starting—and they will be looking for all things hockey. Indeed, hockey buyers will be coming over from Paris Las Vegas, where the Let’s Play Hockey International Expo [www.letsplayhockey.com] is being held on the 17th and 18th.

“We have incentivized buyers from the Let’s Play Hockey Expo to spend an extra day in town,” says Show Director Stan Schwartz. “When they show their badge we’ll cut the walk-up registration fee in half, to $25.”

According to Doug Johnson, President of the Let’s Play Hockey International Expo, more than 100 companies will be exhibiting at Paris Las Vegas for the show’s 13th year.

“This is the only industry show in the world for ice and inline hockey, figure skating, lacrosse, and arena design and development,” he says. “With the ever-changing landscape of the sporting goods market, the Expo has become a source for the industry to keep an open dialogue for the manufacturers with the retailers who are the backbone of these sports.”

The majority of the folks at Let’s Play Hockey are buyers from hockey retail stores, skating pro shops and arenas. Although the focus of the Expo is on equipment, many attendees do carry licensed products in their stores, and should find plenty to interest them at Mandalay Bay.

“The timing of these two sports trade events couldn’t be better,” says Schwartz.

Johnson agrees, adding that buyers are welcome to attend the Let's Play Hockey International Expo for free. "You may want to consider carry hockey products as one of your product categories and create a new revenue stream," he says.