SANTA MONICA, Calif. – The Progressive International Motorcycle Shows is adding Miami, Fla., to the cross-country tour that begins this fall and runs through next February.
| 2014-15 SCHEDULE
Oct. 31-Nov. 2 – San Mateo, CA Nov. 7-9 – Phoenix, AZ Nov. 14-16 – Long Beach, CA Nov. 21-23 – Seattle, WA Dec. 12-14 – New York, NY Jan. 9-11 – Washington, DC Jan. 16-18 – Miami, FL Jan. 23-25 – Dallas, TX Jan. 20-Feb. 1 – Cleveland, OH Feb. 6-8 – Minneapolis, MN Feb. 13-15 – Chicago, IL |
This is the first time that the big IMS tour has visited South Florida.
“Miami has always been a strong motorcycling market on paper but has posed some geographical challenges for our exhibiting partners in the past,” said Mike Ausec, sales director for the tour. “This last year, after reviewing current markets and working closely with our key partners, it was clear that Miami needed to be added to satisfy both our exhibitor and consumer needs. We’re very excited, and looking forward to building another strong motorcycle consumer market.”
The MotorcycleShows.com website also indicated that events previously held in Atlanta, Ga., and Novi, Mich., may be held every other year instead of annually.
OEM support drives scheduling. The tour schedule is created by the show’s producer, Advanstar Communications, upon receiving support from the vehicle manufacturers which use the tour to introduce and display new motorcycles, ATVs, scooters and other powersports vehicles during the traditional riding off-season.
The 2014-15 schedule was developed after meetings with OEMs in 2013, said Tracy Harris, senior vice president of Advanstar’s Powersports Group, parent of the shows (and Dealernews).
“During those meetings we concluded that each manufacturer did not place equal importance on the potential markets where a show could or should be held,” Harris said. “Shows needed to be hosted in major metropolitan areas with a strong population of potential buyers. But not all markets with strong motorcycling populations and strong show attendance were delivering new bike sales, they told us.”
While Atlanta and Detroit are still important motorcycle markets, the vehicle manufacturers ranked other markets higher for the 2014-15 season, Harris said. The tour is subject to an annual review, and Harris added that Atlanta and Detroit may be considered for the IMS schedule every other year.
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