HIGH POINT — Sprucing up a 100-year-old furniture trade show and at the same time competing with a rival furniture show in Las Vegas isn’t cheap.


There’s a multi million dollar glass-covered transportation center at the heart of the market this year.

There’s a central registration system that helps track attendance. And there’s a new marketing and promotional campaign.

The High Point Market, which opened this week, pumps an estimated $1.1 billion into the state’s economy each year and creates an estimated 14,500 jobs statewide, according to a March 2004 economic impact study.

Those statistics were enough to secure money for necessary improvements to the market from the state, Guilford County, the city of High Point and furniture showrooms.

But the nearby cities of Greensboro and Winston-Salem want more specifics before earmarking their tax dollars.

Market officials said they hope to have a study of the market’s impact on hotels, restaurants and jobs in neighboring cities by next year.
With growing competition from the rival furniture show in Las Vegas and calls from the furniture industry for changes to the High Point event, market officials secured more than $5.5 million this year for improvements.

Money came from the state legislature, the city of High Point, Guilford County and a furniture showroom tax approved earlier this year.
In 2001, when the market authority was created, it was given only $1 million for market improvements.

But over the next year, the group will have more than $7 million to spend on the market.

The authority plans to use the additional money for promotions and marketing, transportation improvements and guest services such as free concerts and food and beverage for guests during the market.

But regional dollars for improvements to the High Point show are slow to appear and in some cases are on hold. This summer, after considering an increase in its support from $75,000 to $250,000, the Guilford County commissioners rejected the additional funding.

A plan for funding presented in March by High Point City Manager Strib Boynton called for $750,000 from surrounding communities like Greensboro and Winston-Salem.

Over the summer, High Point leaders and market officials met with surrounding communities to urge their support.
“It should be a no-brainer for those communities,” Boynton said Tuesday. “But the market authority is working to get them further information.”

In Winston-Salem, Derwick Paige, an assistant city manager, said there’s been no communication about the regional contributions since the summer meeting.

There isn’t yet any new data to share with neighboring communities, according to Brian Casey, president of the High Point Market Authority.
The last economic impact study of the High Point show — conducted by Andrew Brod of the Office of Business and Economic Research at UNCG — reported that visitors spend roughly $325 million on services during the markets. But the study doesn’t give any specific breakdown of spending in individual cities or measure job creation in specific cities.

Market officials said a new registration system installed at the April market may provide a more accurate reflections of market traffic than previous estimates, which were used in the study.

“We want to broaden the economic impact study of the market,” Casey said. “The economic impact could be higher than the March 2004 numbers suggested.”

Contact Sue Schultz at 883-4422, Ext. 232, or sschultz@news-record.com