PAX insisting PAX West 2020 still on track for Labor Day.

[Meg Cherry]

An Update On PAX West 2020

Hey there! We hope you're staying safe and healthy in these uncertain times.

We tend to be pretty quiet this time of year, but since we've had some questions from fans and exhibitors we wanted to let everyone know that as of this moment, we're still planning on putting together a great PAX West this coming Labor Day Weekend (September 4th - 7th) for you, and we will be updating our website with more information on badges and hotel registration in the coming months.

Our first priority is always your safety, and that extends to issues of public health. As the year progresses, we will continue to monitor the situation and work with health officials at all levels of government, and intend to follow all CDC and WHO guidelines as they are released. That said, actions already taken by our convention center and local government have left us optimistic, and we will continue working with them to make sure we take the correct steps throughout the summer.

We look forward to welcoming you home as we always have, but until then - may you give Tom Nook a run for his money, and may Sephiroth stand defeated in your wake.

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Important to remember - large events like this usually pay for some sort of insurance to protect against neccessary cancellations. But these policies only pay out if the event is cancelled by the city, not by the exhibitor. So expect Reedpop to insist PAX West is a go for this year, right up until Seattle says no.

 

[Imran]

Sure, Jan.

 

[Border]

It's not till Labor Day weekend usually......and isn't Washington already starting to talk about opening back up?

 

[PowerThroughLov]

It's not till Labor Day weekend usually......and isn't Washington already starting to talk about opening back up?

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Opening up does not mean large gatherings. We won't see large gatherings for months if not next year.

 

[Meg Cherry]

It's not till Labor Day weekend usually......and isn't Washington already starting to talk about opening back up?

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There's a difference between opening back up, and allowing a mass event that invites thousands of people from across the globe.

 

[Feep]

An Update On PAX West 2020
Important to remember - large events like this usually pay for some sort of insurance to protect against neccessary cancellations. But these policies only pay out if the event is cancelled by the city, not by the exhibitor. So expect Reedpop to insist PAX West is a go for this year, right up until Seattle says no.

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This is absolutely correct. They are required to do this. Don't judge them until the city cancels.

 

[Darryl M R]

Perhaps the title should be updated to clarify that Pax is most likely holding out for the city to cancel for them to receive their insurance payout.

I doubt that Pax wants people to hope for Pax West.

 

[dep9000]

This is absolutely correct. They are required to do this. Don't judge them until the city cancels.

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And there it is.

So nothing to see here until the city cancels it

 

[Border]

There's a difference between opening back up, and allowing a mass event that invites thousands of people from across the globe.

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Opening up does not mean large gatherings. We won't see large gatherings for months if not next year.

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Then why not just approach the local government and get it cancelled now? It seems entirely unfair to leave people on the hook for so long when they've got flights and hotels booked. Let them collect their refunds and use that money during this downturn.

Comic-Con was scheduled for July and they've already bit the bullet.

 

[Video Games Are Dumb]

But these policies only pay out if the event is cancelled by the city, not by the exhibitor.

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Good insight. These sorts of insurance agreements have been proven fairly useless in modern times. There were tons of wrestling events surrounding Wrestlemania that were canceled. Sadly, those running the shows will likely not recover.

 

[MrNelson]

There's a difference between opening back up, and allowing a mass event that invites thousands of people from across the globe.

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Pretty sure they're waiting on being forced by the city/state to close to get an insurance payout and avoid having to pay any damages.

There was a big thing earlier this month when Wrestlecon cancelled their 2020 event after WWE pulled the plug on Wrestlemania, and Mariott tried to get them for $114K in damages saying that they could still hold the event because no one (being the city of Tampa or state of Florida) forced them to shut down the event yet.

 

[Meg Cherry]

Then why not just approach the local government and get it cancelled it? It seems entirely unfair to leave people on the hook for so long when they've got flights and hotels booked. Let them collect their refunds and use that money during this downturn.

Comic-Con was scheduled for July and they've already bit the bullet.

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Because Seattle also doesn't want to admit that mass events are going to be banned that far out.

Also, they haven't put passes on sale yet - and I doubt a ton of people made flight & hotel reservations for the show - especially since the reality of COVID had set in by the time PAX East went on.

 

[PowerThroughLov]

Then why not just approach the local government and get it cancelled now? It seems entirely unfair to leave people on the hook for so long when they've got flights and hotels booked. Let them collect their refunds and use that money during this downturn.

Comic-Con was scheduled for July and they've already bit the bullet.

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Its a fair question why they cannot cancel now and let people know. Would have to look into their insurance and other logistical questions.

The second part I feel I must point out if anyone needs any money they put into the event, they should not have spent the money in the first place. And taking it out as a refund from hotels / airlines hurts the economy as much as spending it elsewhere helps.

 

[Border]

Also, they haven't put passes on sale yet - and I doubt a ton of people made flight & hotel reservations for the show - especially since the reality of COVID had set in by the time PAX East went on.

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The second part I feel I must point out if anyone needs any money they put into the event, they should not have spent the money in the first place. And taking it out as a refund from hotels / airlines hurts the economy as much as spending it elsewhere helps.

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Ahhhh, okay. I thought this was like pretty much every other con where passes were sold 6-12 months in advance. I am surprised PAX West had not already gone on sale.

If you wanted to stay at a host hotel for DragonCon (also during the 2020 Labor Day weekend) you pretty much had to pay for a non-refundable hotel room all the way back in October. I don't think it's fair to say that "if you needed that money you should not have put that into the event" because many people could not have expected an extended period of unemployment even 8 weeks ago. I have $1200 tied up in a hotel booking and I'll be alright because I'm still working, but man would it suck if I was out of work.

 

[Meg Cherry]

Ahhhh, okay. I thought this was like pretty much every other con where passes were sold 6-12 months in advance. I am surprised PAX West had not already gone on sale.

If you wanted to stay at a host hotel for DragonCon (also during the 2020 Labor Day weekend) you pretty much had to pay for a non-refundable hotel room all the way back in October. I don't think it's fair to say that "if you needed that money you should not have put that into the event" because many people could not have expected an extended period of unemployment even 8 weeks ago. I have $1200 tied up in a hotel booking and I'll be alright because I'm still working, but man would it suck if I was out of work.

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Yeah, PAX usually puts West passes on sale around Memorial Day - and has deals with partnered hotels that go live at the same time. So I imagine very few people have already booked their travel & lodging.

 

[GSR]

Including PAX, right now I have four(!) cons in the August-early September timeline scheduled because several have pushed back to then.

I'm genuinely curious how many of them will actually go through. (And honestly, I don't know if I'll attend any of them regardless.)

 

[Trisc]

Regardless of whether PAX is cancelled or not, I'm not really interested anymore. The convention has lost its luster over the years.

 

[Deleted member 65994]

Meanwhile:

 

[TheEchosOfTheCyborg]

I wouldn't believe... If this wasn't the same people who kept PAX East on despite being in a State where the Conoravirus was already present (and company were already cancelling showings like Sony which made them "look week" to some developers on TWST).

Honestly all this is showing me is Pax is horribly irresponsible company that couldn't care less about the well being about it's staff, attendees, guests etc as long as they get events on.

Really hope PAX doesn't get off the hook, I can't believe Pax East was allowed given Pax's notorious history about health issues.

 

[Border]

If they were to hold PAX West, how many Exhibitors would actually show up? Most conventions are fueled largely by fans & celebrity guests, whereas PAX very much relies on the presence of big publishers. It seems to me that they are vulnerable in a way that other shows are not.

 

[Draenoth]

I was already on the fence about going this year; once Covid-19 hit there was no chance I would go. I'll miss the new tabletop games, and meeting indie devs and playing their games, but I cannot imagine it'll be safe to gather many thousands of people together anytime this year.

 

[Doc Kelso]

GenCon hasn't been cancelled yet and it's set for July, so I feel this pain. Hoping Indianapolis cancels the event since I haven't gotten plane tickets and I would hate to have wasted $100+ because the convention isn't cancelled.

 

[BringBackSonics]

Yeah, no.

 

[Hanbei]

They still have plenty of time this summer to make their cancellation announcement.

 

[MegaRockEXE]

This was the last big event of the year I wanted to go to. And it would have been my first PAX, too. But it's not looking likely the way things are going.