Miners warm up to Reno

Reno has beat out Spokane as the venue for the 2006 Northwest Mining Association’s annual meeting – the first time in over a century that the event will be held outside the Lilac City.

The move to Nevada is designed to boost flagging attendance.

Six years ago, more than 3,000 geologists and mining officials showed up for the meeting. Last year, attendance was around 1,200.

By switching to Reno for a year, the organization hopes to reverse the decline, said Laura Skaer, executive director of the 112-year-old Northwest Mining Association, which is based in Spokane.

“Reno is the heart of the U.S. mining industry,” Skaer said. “There’s 9,000 people working in the mining industry within a four-hour drive. … In Spokane, there’s maybe 700 or 800.”

She’s also counting on the allure of casinos and Lake Tahoe to bring in delegates for the meeting, which takes place in early December. “Reno is more of a winter destination,” Skaer said.

The weeklong meeting will return to the Spokane Convention Center in 2007, and possibly in 2008 and 2009. Since the event is one of the few large conventions booked in December, it brings a significant economic impact to downtown at the start of the Christmas shopping season.

“We don’t want to see them leave in 2006, but we understand the reason,” said Keith Backsen, director of convention sales for the Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The important thing is that they are returning.”