Summer 2014 behind us it’s time to move on to 2015 planning, as Wizard World has confirmed two more dates for 2015,
adding Louisville, KY and Reno, NV to its 2015 and bringing the total number of planned shows to 24. Tickets are now in sale for the first seven events of 2015, which will feature such nerdlebrities as Stephen Amell (“Arrow”), Evan Peters (X-Men: Days of Future Past), Tyler Posey (“Teen Wolf”), William Shatner (“Star Trek”),The Bella Twins and Michael Rooker. Get em while they’re hot! Here’s the complete 2015 schedule — new events are noted with an *. Still no return to New York City.
January 9-11 – Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
January 23-25 – Wizard World Portland Comic Con, Oregon Convention Center
*February 6-8 – Wizard World Wisconsin Comic Con, Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wis.
*February 13-15 – Wizard World Indianapolis Comic Con, Indianapolis Convention Center
*February 20-22 – Wizard World Cleveland Comic Con, Cleveland Convention Center
*March 6-8 – Bruce Campbell’s Horror Fest (Chicago), Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Ill.
*March 13-15 – Wizard World Raleigh Comic Con, Raleigh Convention Center
*April 24-26 – Wizard World Las Vegas Comic Con, Las Vegas Convention Center
May 1-3 – Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Con, Minneapolis Convention Center
May 7-10 Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con, Pennsylvania Convention Center
May 22-24 – Wizard World St. Louis Comic Con, America’s Center
*May 28-30 – Wizard World Greenville Comic Con, TD Convention Center
*June 12-14 – Wizard World Des Moines Comic Con, Iowa Events Center
June 19-21 – Wizard World Sacramento Comic Con, Sacramento Convention Center
July 31-August 2 – Wizard World Richmond Comic Con, Greater Richmond Convention Center
August 20-23 – Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
September 4-6 – Wizard World San Jose Comic Con, San Jose Convention Center
September 18-20 – Wizard World Columbus Comic Con (formerly Ohio Comic Con), Greater Columbus Convention Center
September 25-27 – Wizard World Nashville Comic Con, Music City Center
*October 2-4 – Wizard World Ft. Lauderdale Comic Con, Broward Convention Center
October 23-25 – Wizard World Tulsa Comic Con, Cox Business Center
October 29-31 – Wizard World Austin Comic Con, Austin Convention Center
November 6-8 – Wizard World Louisville Comic Con, Kentucky International Convention Center
*November 20-22 – Wizard World Reno Comic Con, Reno-Sparks Convention Center
Many of these shows are back-to-back. (Four groups are back-to-back-to-back!)
It’s not “every other week” in most cases.
If Wizard can pull this off, and not create any animosity, then they’ll be a powerhouse. They just need to run the demographics for underserved markets, because every metro area has a convention center big enough for a Wizard show.
Basically, they are following the “auto show” model. Offer big name celebrities for publicity, then fill in the holes with smaller celebs, dealers, and artists. Aim at the general public, but don’t piss off the hardcore fans. (I think FanExpo is also following this model, if the numerous costly tickets for panels and photo ops is any indication.)
It looks like it’s working… WIZD is approaching $1.00 in share price. (YTD: 117%)
PREDICTION: Within the next two years, expect ReedPOP to announce an expansion of their “Special Edition” mini-shows across the country.
Meanwhile, Creation Entertainment has 24 shows listed on their website.
All are fandom-specific (lots of Supernatural shows)!
Glad to see they’ve added a Louisville show again and that it’s not during the college basketball season (a BIG draw on people’s free time around the Bluegrass State – even Comic Book/Pop Culture fans!), but I do find it interesting that it seems to be around the time of the Comic Cavalade (a.k.a. the halfway to Derby City Comic Con show , the first of which will be this fall around the same time as the announced date for Wizard’s show next year). Con wars can come to even the secondary cities it seems! :)
I’ll be at Wizard Reno this year in November. I see they booked the same time slot for Reno in 2015. They have a lot of confidence in that region and time slot. They must know something about that demographic that I don’t.
I also suspect we will see more specialized events coming from Wizard in the future.
They have announced a Cleveland show each year for four or five years, but have yet to produce one. This is a only wish-list with no basis in reality.