GenCon is bursting at the seams. So I want to start a fun conversation about expanding GenCon.

Ground rules:  We're not talking about leaving Indy.  Indy hits a sweet spot of walkable downtown location, convention space, and hotel space.  It's really hard to beat.  And I've looked at a bunch of cities, and there are only a few that come close to what Indy offers.

That said, I was looking at the convention calendar for other big conventions.  And also if there was any other city that might be comparable to what Indy offers.  I think I found an option that is intriguing.

Nashville.  

Yes, it's the country music capitol of America.  But, more importantly for our needs, it's a city with a decently sized convention center (though technically smaller than Indy)... and a bunch of nearby, walkable hotels.  The weather is milder in the winter than most of the other options out there.  And that's important because the best time to host a second GenCon is somewhere in the April timeframe.

So... Nashville in April for a Spring GenCon.

Please remember this is just a fun discussion.  Don't take it too seriously.

I want you to know I would go to every Gen-Con even if they held 12 per year, but the reason they stopped having multiple Gens-Con in the first place (or specifically why they cancelled So Cal) is because attendees largely said they would only attend one, and they preferred the "real" one.

Not sure why PAX gets away with having like four but so it goes 

I think part of it too was that the West Coast is difficult for gaming conventions.  You want to have a location that is easy to drive to so you can pull in a lot of people that don't necessarily have to fly in.

That's a lot easier in the Midwest than it is on the West Coast.  Also, convention space is likely way more expensive.  So that kills the profit margin too.  

Basically, the West Coast just isn't ideal for GenCon.  It's great for small, regional gaming conventions.  And it's fine for a couple of large multimedia conventions like ComicCon and Pax.  But for something that is just focused on tabletop gaming... you need to be where the gamers are... and that's the midwest.

That's why when I set out to find a second location, I limited myself to areas near the midwest so that it would be drivable.  When you do that your options narrow down to...

• Indianapolis (downtown location, walkable, drivable, 7k hotel rooms downtown)
  
• St. Louis (downtown location, walkable, drivable, can't find a source for hotel room count)
  
• Detroit (downtown location, walkable, drivable, 5k hotel rooms downtown)
  
• Nashville (downtown location, walkable, drivable, tight on indoor space, 13k hotel rooms)
  
• Cleveland (downtown location, walkable, drivable, can't find hotel info)
  

Origins still exists. Too close in time for a third. If you need extra gaming go to that one in Columbus.

My suggestion is April timeframe... but if that's too close, it could even be in March.

Would a second Gen Con really be another big convention? There are already a lot of conventions, including large ones (and SPIEL makes Gen Con seem modest in size!). The thing about the large-scale conventions is that it's worth it for people from across the country, in fact across the world, to go to them, precisely because so many people will be there. Suppose there were two Gen Cons, i.e. two conventions trying to have the same kinds of offerings in more or less the same proportion. Would big game companies go to both? Would or could smaller companies go to both? If a company is rolling out a new game or product, which one should they choose. If the answer is always "Indy, of course," then why would people want to go to the other one?

What I would encourage instead is going to the smaller and mid-size conventions. They are cheaper, a little more focus, and are more spread out during the year. So, you can go to GaryCon (March 20-23, 2025), or MidSouthCon (March 21-23, 2025). Sure, it's not the same thing as going to Gen Con in Indy, but then a second Gen Con wouldn't be the same thing, either.

I think about expanding GenCon kind of like how PAX expanded without losing too much of its allure.

It really does seem like PAX is unique in its ability to add events without immediately having some of them go awry.  Maybe because most are video game events so it is a different world?  They do only have one dedicated tabletop event.