The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
41°F
Current Conditions
Clear sky
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

Home Show Reverts Back To Single Site Ticket Sales Dropped Sharply After Switch To Multiple Sites

Grayden Jones Staff Writer

After experimenting with a multisite format for two years, the 1996 Showcase of Homes will be held at a single site on the rim of Five Mile Prairie, officials said Friday.

The Spokane Home Builders Association, sponsor of the home show, said visitors this year told the organization that they preferred the variety of homes found in 10 separate neighborhoods.

But ticket sales have dropped by 60 percent since the Showcase switched in 1993 to multiple sites, costing the home show and its benefactors an estimated $150,000 over two years.

Kathy Johnson, office coordinator for the builders, said the organization will alternate formats of the show every other year. The 1996 Showcase will be at one site, returning to multiple sites in 1997, and so on.

Association members also missed the chance to display their building products under a tent at a single, designated site, Johnson said. With homes spread across the county like a progressive dinner, the building products tent could not be used.

The Showcase sold 10,500 tickets in June at $5 a pop, up from 10,000 in 1994, Johnson said. That compares with sales of 25,000 tickets in 1993, the last time the show was at one location.

The 1996 Showcase will be held June 14 through June 23 along the south rim of Five Mile Prairie in two neighboring developments - West Horizon and Rock Ridge Addition. Up to 12 homes will be displayed, Johnson said.

The Showcase will feature new homes that have never been occupied. Builders have until Sept. 19 to submit a bid to erect a 1996 Showcase home. Names will be drawn Sept. 21.

Jim Greenup, with Quantum Realty, is the developer of West Horizon. Curtis Nelson, who operates a Spokane automotive towing and repair company, is developing the Rock Ridge site.

Johnson said she’s hopeful that someone will construct a home more expensive than the $1.75 million mansion that highlighted this year’s Showcase. That home also was on Five Mile Prairie.

, DataTimes