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It definitely sounds like they overpromised. Most of the big cons got their start in hotels, not renting out entire convention centers.
Right. Even if they were counting on sponsors (which are hard for even things like Nerd HQ to get), that's aiming too high. The space costs would eat up anything raised. Plus trying to book talent? And pay people.
The other organizers speak and they do admit that they aimed too high. But they also take a shot at their followers by criticizing them for not actually buying tickets and saying they people don’t really care about diversity... You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
This is so messed up. You need to start your convention small. Even SDCC started at a hotel with just a few hundred members. This con was going to have more attendees than the first SDCC. But they were expecting thousands of followers to fly all the way out for their brand new con. So unrealistic. I have friends that organize cons. They've been around for years and are still relatively small because that's just how their con operates. But they know it and don't overshoot with their expectations.
While we're no longer in the days where all conventions need to start small (Denver, Salt Lake, and Silicon Valley come to mind), it probably would have been a good idea for this one to.