Just curious if anyone has any idea why such a drop in attendance roughly during the years of 2004 to 2010? Glad to see that it has picked up significantly since then. Was it something about the show itself or the hobby-related? 2004: 19,869 2005: 20,411 2006: 20,324 2007: 19,318 2008: 17,250 2009: 18,877 2010: 19,750
The problem with Hara Arena, in a nutshell, was that it fell into a downward spiral of too few events and not enough maintenance. The Wampler family lost the property when they couldn't pay taxes on it. Now it's beyond repair, after being directly in the path of a tornado. I went to the last few Hamventions at Hara and the first two in Xenia. Despite teething pains the first year, the difference was like night and day. The Greene County Fairgrounds staff has gone all out to make Hamvention a success, and it shows.
So, how is attendance determined? Is it the number of tickets sold? There wasn't a turnstile to go through. What if someone buys a ticket and doesn't show up?
Great time this year! I went Fri and Sat, using the school bus satellite parking. There were so many school buses in rotation, going and coming was a breeze. The exhibits and flea market were excellent. (Great weather) DARA , Greene County and all the great volunteers deserve a lot of praise. Hamvention is alive and well!
