One of real estate industry’s biggest events of the year postponed by coronavirus
.JPG "The International Council of Shopping Centers said it may reschedule its Las Vegas conference for late 2020")
South Florida real estate professionals should cross another conference off their list due to COVID-19.
The International Council of Shopping Centers announced on Friday that it will postpone its annual RECon conference hosted at the Las Vegas Convention Center and scheduled for May for late 2020 amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to the Real Deal. The Las Vegas event, which draws 36,000, is considered the largest global gathering of real estate professionals.
ICSC has also postponed other events had planned through late June. Organizers have not yet set a new date.
“I am very disappointed,” said Katy Welsh, the senior director of retail services for Colliers International and the 2020 ICSC Florida State Operations chair.
We go to meet with landlords, tenants, developers from across the country who are buying and selling shopping centers. That’s where you see people once a year,” Welsh said. “It is a missed opportunity. But I understand that ICSC has to take precautions.”
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It’s unlikely that the conference will be rescheduled for late 2020 since, Welsh said, due to existing ICSC events calendar. That includes the ICSC Florida conference in Orlando in August.
The Las Vegas cancellation may benefit the ICSC Florida conference, she said. The Orlando conference usually attract about 6,000 attendees. Welsh said those that planned to attend Las Vegas may end up coming to Florida.
“More people will be coming and seeing what they can do in Florida,” she said.
The Las Vegas ICSC 2020 was slated to include three days for presentations on deal making, retail market conditions, and concentrated exhibitions related to cannabis, food, health and wellness, emerging brands and the influence of technology on retail.
The organization confirmed on its website that exhibitors and attendees who registered for the RECon conference can roll over reservations and tickets to the rescheduled event date.
Real estate-related events organized for Miami-Dade County and Broward are also on hold. Some associations decided to postpone events scheduled for late March.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 1:37 PM.
