ShowSpan

What ShowSpan does

ShowSpan (legal entity Show Michigan Corp. d/b/a ShowSpan, Inc.) is a privately held, family-owned consumer event production company founded in 1944 and headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The company produces 15 annual consumer shows across five regional markets—Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Detroit/Novi (Michigan); Milwaukee (Wisconsin); and Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania)—spanning boat shows, RV/camping expos, cottage and lakefront living shows, home and garden shows, remodeling and new homes shows, outdoor sport shows (fishing and hunting), an automotive show, and an international wine, beer and food festival.

The underlying technology stack is modest: WordPress-based marketing websites for each show, third-party ticketing infrastructure (InteractiveTicketing for general admissions, Ticketspice for parking), and the Expocad exhibitor portal. ShowSpan has not developed any proprietary technology, AI capabilities, or mobile applications; the company's operational model is fundamentally physical event production.

Revenue is generated from three primary streams: (1) exhibitor booth space sales (a single 10'x10' booth rents for $1,025-$1,175 per show, with bulk space at $5.30-$7.60 per sq ft and multi-show discounts of 5%); (2) consumer ticket sales (general admission $5-$25 per day; VIP and pairing dinners up to $150); and (3) tiered sponsorship and marketing add-on packages. The customer base is two-sided and distributed: exhibitors comprise SMB and enterprise vendors (boat dealers, RV dealers, home builders, restaurants) while ticket buyers are consumers in regional Midwest and Pennsylvania markets. John D. Loeks Jr. serves as Chairman, JD Loeks as CEO, and Carolyn Alt as Executive Vice President; the company remains under continuous Loeks family ownership with no external institutional investment.

Name

ShowSpan

Legal name

Show Michigan Corp. d/b/a ShowSpan, Inc.

Website

https://showspan.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1944

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ShowSpan is a family-owned Grand Rapids, Michigan-based consumer event producer operating 15 annual consumer shows (boats, RVs, home/garden, outdoor sports, automotive, culinary) across Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, serving exhibitors and consumer audiences through booth rentals and ticket sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Event Production

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer & Public Shows (B2C) Organizers (THAHABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Retail, Consumer Goods & Lifestyle Shows Organizers (THAHABAJ), Food, Beverage & Hospitality Trade Shows Organizers (THAHABAI), Auto, Boat & RV Shows (MPAGAFAC), Trade Shows & Exhibitions (Booths, Show Management) (BPAFAGAD)

Keywords

• Consumer trade shows
• Event production
• Consumer exhibitions
• Boat and RV shows
• Home and garden expos

Headquarters

HQ city

Grand Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ShowSpan produces and operates 15 annual consumer shows across Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, spanning boats, RVs/campers, lakefront/cottage living, home & garden, remodeling & new homes, automotive, fishing, hunting/outdoor sport, and a wine/beer/food festival. The company sells booth space and marketing/sponsorship packages to exhibitors and admission tickets to consumers, generating revenue through per-show booth rentals (e.g., 10'x10' booths at $1,025–$1,175, bulk space at $5.30–$7.60 per square foot) and consumer ticket prices (e.g., $12 adults at Cottage & Lakefront Living Show Detroit, $25 single-day admission at Grand Rapids International Wine, Beer & Food Festival).

Product overview

ShowSpan is a consumer show producer operating 15 annual events across Michigan and Wisconsin. The portfolio consists of a unified event production platform supporting two boat shows (Grand Rapids, Milwaukee), two cottage/lakefront living shows (Detroit, Grand Rapids), two RV/camper shows (Grand Rapids, Milwaukee), two home and garden shows (Lansing, West Michigan), two remodeling/new homes shows, two Ultimate Sport Shows (Grand Rapids, Pittsburgh), one fishing show (Detroit), one hunting show (Detroit/Outdoorama), one auto show (Michigan International), and one culinary festival (Wine, Beer & Food). All 15 shows share common infrastructure including exhibitor sales systems, ticketing platforms (InteractiveTicketing, Ticketspice), venue partnerships, and marketing services. The core offering is booth space sales and ticket sales for these consumer events, with ancillary revenue from sponsorship packages, marketing add-ons, and partner integrations like The Dyrt PRO camping app.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cottage & Lakefront Living Show - Detroit A four-day consumer show held at Vibe Credit Union Showplace in Novi, Michigan, featuring lakefront property services, cottage furnishings, vacation rentals, watercraft, and outdoor lifestyle exhibits; for consumers and exhibitors in the lakefront lifestyle category.
• Cottage & Lakefront Living Show - Grand Rapids A three-day consumer show at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, Michigan, featuring lakefront living content, vacation rentals, cottage furnishing, and outdoor lifestyle exhibits; for consumers and exhibitors in the lakefront lifestyle category.
• Grand Rapids Boat Show A five-day boat exposition at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, Michigan, featuring power boats, pontoon boats, fishing boats, ski/wake boats, personal watercraft, and marine accessories from over 80 manufacturers; for boating consumers and marine exhibitors.
• Grand Rapids Camper, Travel & RV Show An RV and camping expo featuring over 100 RV lines from West Michigan dealers, RV accessories, campground services, and travel destinations across 200,000+ square feet; for RV and outdoor recreation consumers and exhibitors, including a bundled one-year subscription to The Dyrt PRO camping app with every ticket.
• Grand Rapids International Wine, Beer, and Food Festival An 18th-year culinary festival featuring over 1,200 wines, beers, ciders, and spirits alongside area restaurants, tasting sessions, pairing dinners, and cooking demonstrations; for food and beverage consumers and exhibitor vendors.
• Grand Rapids Remodeling & New Homes Show A three-day home improvement show featuring remodeling contractors, new home builders, designers, and home services; for home-improvement consumers and exhibitor vendors in the Grand Rapids market.
• Lansing Home & Garden Show Mid-Michigan's largest home and garden show featuring feature gardens, three free seminar stages, and hundreds of local businesses with home and garden products and services; for home and garden consumers and exhibitors in the Lansing market.
• Michigan International Auto Show A four-day automotive show hosted by the Grand Rapids New Car Dealers Association featuring the latest vehicles, automotive technology, electric vehicles (Electric Avenue), and performance displays; for auto consumers and exhibitor dealers in Michigan.
• Milwaukee Boat Show Wisconsin's largest boating exposition at Wisconsin Expo Center featuring over 300 boats from over 80 manufacturers including motor yachts, runabouts, pontoon boats, fishing boats, and water sports equipment; for boating consumers and marine exhibitors in the Milwaukee market.
• Milwaukee Camper, Travel & RV Show The original Milwaukee RV show featuring RV displays, camping gear, and travel services, with a veteran/active-duty military admission discount available onsite; for RV and outdoor recreation consumers and exhibitors in the Milwaukee market.
• Ultimate Fishing Show - Detroit Michigan's largest pure fishing show featuring hundreds of fishing tackle booths, specialty baits, fishing boats, outfitters, lodges, resorts, charters, and guides; for fishing consumers and exhibitor vendors in the Detroit metro market.
• Ultimate Hunting Show - Detroit (Outdoorama) A 53-year sportsman's tradition featuring hunting, fishing, boating, and outdoor activities, with outfitter expo, Big Buck Night, trout pond, boat displays, and outdoor lifestyle exhibits; for hunting and outdoor recreation consumers and exhibitors in the Detroit market.
• Ultimate Sport Show - Grand Rapids Michigan's premier fishing, hunting, and outdoor sport show featuring antique lures, trout pond, hawgtrough, woodcarvers, rock wall, and Lake Ultimate (110,000 gallon indoor lake) with nearly 100 seminars; for outdoor recreation consumers and exhibitors in the Grand Rapids market.
• Ultimate Sport Show - Pittsburgh A three-day premier hunting, fishing, and outdoor sport show at Monroeville Convention Center featuring hunting equipment, fishing gear, outdoor accessories, boats, and outfitters; for outdoor recreation consumers and exhibitors in the Pittsburgh market.
• West Michigan Home and Garden Show West Michigan's largest home and garden show featuring 12 feature gardens, five free seminar stages, and over 300 local businesses with home and garden products and services; for home and garden consumers and exhibitors in the Grand Rapids market.
• Exhibitor Booth and Sponsorship Sales Booth space rental and sponsorship package sales for exhibitors across all 15 ShowSpan shows, including 10x10 booth options, bulk space at $5.30-$7.60 per square foot, corner premiums ($100-$200 per corner), and sponsorship tiers (Hosting, Feature, Major Feature, Premium, Presenting). Available to manufacturers, dealers, outfitters, builders, restaurants, wineries/breweries/distilleries, and service providers seeking booth space at regional consumer events.

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• RX Global (Reed Exhibitions, RELX): RX Global operates one of the world's largest exhibition portfolios including consumer and lifestyle events. The business model of booth/sponsorship sales combined with consumer ticketing is structurally identical to ShowSpan's, even though RX operates at vastly greater scale.
• Comexposium Group: Comexposium runs a wide portfolio of consumer and trade exhibitions including food, wine, and lifestyle events (e.g., Wine Paris, Salon du Chocolat). Its wine and food festival expertise is particularly comparable to ShowSpan's Wine, Beer & Food Festival format.
• Clarion Events: Clarion Events is a global exhibition organizer covering consumer and trade events including food, lifestyle, and outdoor categories. Comparable in event organizational capability, sponsorship packaging, and consumer ticketing mechanics to ShowSpan's portfolio.
• Emerald X (formerly Emerald Expositions): Emerald X is one of the largest US trade and consumer show operators (Surfaces, Atlanta Market, Outdoor Retailer, etc.). It competes only partly in ShowSpan's consumer-show categories but represents the scaled incumbent model ShowSpan would benchmark against for booth monetization, sponsorship packaging, and multi-show discounts.
• Informa Markets: Informa Markets is the global exhibitions arm of Informa plc, running large-scale B2B and consumer shows across food, lifestyle, and home categories. While ShowSpan is regional and consumer-focused while Informa is global, both monetize via booth space, sponsorship, and ticketing around live exhibitions.
• Messe Frankfurt Inc. Messe Frankfurt operates consumer goods and lifestyle exhibitions globally, including Ambiente and other lifestyle shows. Comparable to ShowSpan in consumer-show organization, exhibitor monetization, and trade-show marketing infrastructure, though at significantly larger scale.
• Hannover Fairs USA (Deutsche Messe): Deutsche Messe is a German exhibitions organizer with US operations, running industrial and consumer events including home, garden, and outdoor lifestyle shows. Comparable in that both businesses sell booth space and consumer attendance at scheduled annual live events.

Direct peers

• Marketplace Events: Marketplace Events is the most direct US-based competitor, running regional consumer shows focused on home, garden, holiday, and lifestyle categories. Both companies operate a portfolio model of regional B2C exhibitions reliant on booth sales and consumer ticketing, with similar exhibitor rosters and pricing tiers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/showspan
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/showspan-inc.

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ShowSpan