FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[vic rzonca]

Shared from FB. Lithographie Ltd
Yesterday at 2:05pm ·

Tucson Hotel City Center Update:

Bill Besse paid a visit to the Tucson Hotel City Center and sent us some photos of the lobby renovation (it's under new management), with a glimpse of the old dirt parking lot, which as you may know was purchased by UHaul.

A few highlights:
Many of the various rooms in the lobby, including the "Wedding Room" where our bookshop had been located and the restaurant (not the bar) have been removed. Lithographie will be located just to the left of the front entrance, where the vending machines and our old bookshop used to be.

The hotel has built a wall on the perimeter of the property, dividing the grassy area in the front of the building that had been home to several tent dealers and creating a barrier between the hotel and Fine Minerals International (Daniel Trinchillo's showroom) that also infringes on some tent space in the parking lot. We have heard separately that the number of tents are being reduced and those dealers being moved to other locations under the Arizona Mineral and Fossil Show (Marty Zinn) umbrella.

Also, UHaul does NOT appear to have broken ground on the parking lot as of this week.

In terms of the rooms, Bill reports that they were focused on renovating the Tower, which is where most of the guests stay when the mineral show is not going on. And not to get your hopes up, but he did see new beds being moved into some of the courtyard rooms; so some of those might also see some improvement prior to the show's opening.

If you are a dealer at the Tucson City Center and have moved to a new location, please feel free to post your old and new space here to let people following the progress of the new and improved Tucson know where you will be.

Thanks Bill for the photos and the update! The times, they are a changin'!

[Robert Seitz]

What an improvement. I look forward to seeing the the inside and outside dealers this year.

Bob

[bob kerr]

I also note on the Jewel Tunnel web site (Rock Currier's old business) that there will be a show hosted by them at the old La Fuente restaurant (north of the executive inn) and this show opens on January 20. Jewel Tunnel will also maintain their standard ballroom location.

https://www.jeweltunnel.com/home/event/la-fuente-mineral-and-fossil-show/
(link normalized by FMF)

Tucson is now up to 4 weeks.

bob

[vic rzonca]

It's a series of jump starts, jump starting the jump start. Does this process give the hobby more buyers?

[Jesse Fisher]

Not sure Vic, but the venue operators must love it as long as the dealers think so!

[alfredo]

It doesn't create more buyers, but it does create the illusion of sparser crowds and lower attendance by spreading the visitors out over more days. Every year I read some show report where the writer claims there were fewer visitors than the year before. Having read that now almost every year for more than a decade you'd think Tucson was moribund ;))

Spreading visitors out over an ever-increasing number of days (and ever-increasing number of venues) does of course lower crowd density - a good thing for those, like me, who hate elbowing their way through crowds, and good for the hotels and the city of Tucson, who make more money, but bad for the dealers' pocketbooks as they have to stay away from home longer (but they probably like that, if they're from Canada or northern Europe), and either spend more money on hotels and restaurants, or decide which customers they won't see this year - the early ones or the late ones.

[John S. White]

Excellent observation by Alfredo. It beautifully summarizes what should be for the collecting community a serious concern. This extension of the Tucson Show not only spreads the visitors out thereby lowering the crowd density and is bad for the dealers' pocket books, it is very bad for the collectors' pocket books as well for those who hope to be able to stay long enough to attend key shows. Money spent on hotels, meals, etc. is not money spent on minerals.

[Bob Harman]

All good responses and I do like the motel upgrades.

But Alfredo P may not be quite so correct. The main show management at the Tucson Convention Center has taken main show attendance for years now. The main show remains at the same venue and same time of year, same number of days, and pretty much unchanged in other ways (dealers and their help numbers and exhibitors numbers are all about the same) and yet the main show management says that attendance figures have fallen off in recent years. I think that their main show figures are fairly accurate. Other show venues might see attendance figures rise and fall from year to year, but the main show is still the largest and most reliable bellwether of attendance.

I have been to Tucson 5 times in the last 13 years and I have always gone to the main show, but depending on the length of my stay in Tucson, have varied my attendance at other venues from year to year. Lots of older collectors no longer travel to the show and some additional people of lower financial means find the costs related to attending the show intimidating to their budgets.

In sum and in short, there may be a true decline in attendance within the last few years. That is my opinion. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL ! BOB

[John S. White]

It is possible that the reason for the decline in attendance at the club show is because more and more collectors attend the satellite shows and must go home before the club Show begins. It is also possible that far more specimens are sold at the combined satellite shows than at the club show where those collectors still in town go more for the special exhibits than to purchase minerals.

[bob kerr]

I also note on the jewel tunnel site that for the LaFuente site; This location will be open all year beginning in 2018.

this may be something we may be seeing more of - dealers buying buildings in the "mineral district" and possibly setting the stage for "Tucson all year around". note that KC Pandy (suberb minerals) bought a large warehouse near the executive inn and fine minerals international has the "white house" next to the HTCC and of course Mike/Jason New at Top Gem have had a warehouse for years and rent out spaces next door for other dealers. there may be others also that i'm not aware of.

maybe there's a business strategy going on here for the long term?? Tucson is the world's crossroads for minerals

bob