Next year, Chicago will be left without a hardware trade show at McCormick Place for the first time in nearly 30 years.

The American Hardware Manufacturers Association will not mount a show, formerly scheduled for April 3–5, 2005, ceding the spring exhibition to a Las Vegas event organized by Reed Exhibitions, its former partner in the National Hardware Show.

AHMA plans to develop alternative events.

In May, Reed drew 2,303 exhibitors to its show in Las Vegas, while a Chicago show the AHMA mounted the month before drew only 700 exhibitors, filling less than half of its previous McCormick Place space.

The 60th annual National Hardware Show is preparing for a full house at its Las Vegas event, to be held May 17–19, 2005, with more than 1,800 manufacturers already committed to 481,250 square feet of the available floor space.

"When we first decided to revive the National Hardware Show with a new location, new timing and new content, we knew the manufacturers and retailers in the home improvement industry would quickly and decidedly vote on whether or not we made the right decision, and vote they have," said Rob Cappiello, industry vice president for the National Hardware Show.

To accommodate the growth, the 2005 National Hardware Show will span two Las Vegas venues — the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Sands Convention Center.

The 2005 National Hardware Show will also be the first year that Reed Exhibitions' National Hardware Show and George Little Management's Las Vegas Gourmet Housewares Show will be colocated.