Ahoy, suburbs: Chicago Boat Show sails into Rosemont after 93 years in city

It may still have the city’s name in its title, but after 93 years, the Chicago Boat Show has dropped anchor in the suburbs.

The Midwest recreational boating industry’s largest and longest-running annual boating event opens Wednesday afternoon for a five-day tour of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont — regarded by organizers as geographically closer to boat dealers and their core customers who live in the suburbs.

The Boat Show docked for years at McCormick Place, in a history that spans to Chicago’s old International Amphitheatre.

“McCormick Place is a wonderful facility. There’s nothing that I would say bad about it,” said Darren Envall, vice president of Midwest boat shows for the National Marine Manufacturers Association, the trade organization that produces the event. “It was just through the analysis with our exhibitors and attendees that we had to make the decision.”

“It’s closer to our exhibitors,” Envall declared. “It’s closer to the people that they’re selling boats to.”

Citing a market study and feedback from businesses and boaters, show organizers announced last March they would be setting sail from their longtime home within the city limits.

Crews started to stage large watercraft in a Rosemont marshaling yard before the new year, and began rolling them into the convention hall last Thursday.

The show will encompass five exhibit halls totaling 450,000 square feet — about half the convention center’s floor space. And with 125 exhibitors and 450 boats — from kayaks and pontoons to wake boats and luxury cruisers — this year’s show is bigger in scope and size than what was exhibited at McCormick Place, officials said.

SkipperBud’s, which has marinas and stores in Antioch and Winthrop Harbor as well as throughout Wisconsin and Michigan, remains the Boat Show’s largest exhibitor. The dealer’s 60 boats within some 20,000 square feet of exhibit space is comparable to its old setup at McCormick Place, said General Manager Terry Anderson.

But Anderson saw logistical advantages in getting the pricey equipment from the Chain O’ Lakes to Rosemont, not having to make a longer drive downtown in potentially bad weather.

He’s also hoping the new location will translate into increased foot traffic through the convention hall that could lead to more sales. The Boat Show represents a third of SkipperBud’s year in sales volume, Anderson said.

“McCormick Place was a destination for many years, and a lot of people that live in the burbs — north, south, west — would come to the show,” said Anderson, a longtime Arlington Heights resident.

But the once-crowded exhibit aisles began to grow sparse earlier than normal, he said.

“What we found over the last several years is that entertaining and going out after the show diminished. People just didn’t want to be downtown that late the way they used to be. This location represents a whole different opportunity with entertaining,” said Anderson, noting the proximity of Rosemont’s entertainment district, restaurants and Rivers Casino in Des Plaines.

Envall anticipates hitting the show’s typical attendance mark of 40,000 this weekend, but noted inclement weather hindered last year’s turnout.

It could be one of the bigger conventions of the 64 planned in Rosemont in 2025. Fan Expo, a comic book convention, had 50,000 people walk through the turnstiles last August.

Christopher Stephens, the convention center’s executive director, said he and his staff have never tried to poach convention business away from Chicago or nearby Schaumburg. Only a handful of shows have made the move from McCormick Place to Rosemont, including World of Wheels, Vet Fest and the Midwest Beauty Show.

“We could solicit their business, but in terms of what we think is best for this overall Chicagoland market, we feel that it’s always been the best not to do that,” Stephens said.

However, “we are always open if they would like to discuss coming to Rosemont,” he added.