Our club is an original member of the group that puts on the annual Ft. Worth train show, and also the annual Dallas/Plano show. For quite a few years, I was our club representative on the show "committee".
I can tell you that it has always been a struggle to find an affordable location for a show in Ft. Worth. Ft. worth keeps raising the prices for rental of the facilities, and the parking lot fees keep increasing. As a whole, the group putting on the show would love to find another place for the show. We just have never been able to find the right size space, available at the right price, and located in a convenient location. Our goal is to at least be able to break even on the shows, not to make a bunch of money. The member clubs can not afford to do this for free, or at any kind of financial lose. It costs tens of thousands of dollars to do this show each year. Attendance at this show, for many years, has been stagnant, at best. As the cost of using the facilities grows, we have to raise prices to at least stay even. We can not raise the dealer table cost too much either.
The group of clubs doing this show has pretty much decided that facility rental prices and parking fees have just flat gotten out of hand. For years, we have been seeking another location with more reasonable prices. We have not yet found that location. so, unless another location is found, there is a good possibility this will be the last Ft. Worth show, at least for a while.
Our club, which has been involved since the first show, has worked hard along with the other clubs to make this a success. I think we have held this show for around 20 years. We would hate to see it come to an end, and along with the whole show "committee", are looking for viable options for future shows.
Im not angry with the Show or the organizers. Mad at the city of Ft Worth and the Will Rogers
The Will Rogers people bend over backwards for every GUN show that seems to take place almost every month.
Just another fine example of how Fort Worth always misses the mark.
