It’s motorcycle weekend in downtown Columbus.

September 23-24 2017

Columbus Business First, Laura Newpoff

The entire powersports industry is in town for nation’s premier trade show that opens to the public at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

Honda, Harley-Davidson, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki – all the big boys are there with all their new toys. So, too, are helmet and wheel makers, water sports companies like Sea-Doo, clothing retailers and all kinds of makers of accessories. Really, if it has anything to do with power sports and motorcycles, you’ll find it at this show.

You can find AIMExpo’s website here. The show is presented by Nationwide. Here’s the floorplan of the more than 500 exhibitors.

Check out the slideshow to see photos of the show ahead of its opening to the public.

Experience Columbus tells me 20,000 dealers, consumers and media will fill the convention center this weekend. They’ll also fill 8,500 hotel rooms and generate $3.3 million in direct visitor spending.

AIMExpo is in its fifth year. This is its first trip to Columbus after hosting the event in Orlando. Part of Columbus’ draw is that 41 percent of franchised and independent dealerships in the U.S. are located within a 500-mile radius of the city.

An AIMExpo spokesman told me beyond the proximity to all those dealers, a big draw was that the expo was able to take over the entire Convention Center and be the only show in town. The group also likes being able to walk straight from the show floor to the Arena District and the Short North. So far, they’re impressed with the city and feel a sense of community here.

AIMExpo heads to Las Vegas next year but will be back in Columbus in 2019.

Brian Ross, president and CEO of Experience Columbus, said in an email that getting AIMExpo is a huge win for the city.

“It not only has an immense impact on our local economy, but also shines the spotlight on our city as thousands of industry dealers, media and consumers from around the country visit throughout the four-day event,” he said. “I’m confident they’ll have a tremendous time in our city and hope that we can welcome the trade show back in 2019 and beyond.”

Read the original article and watch the video here