Despite significantly early scheduling and historic fires nearby, the Western Pool & Spa Show reported attendance comparable to last year.
“We were down just about 7% from last year,” when the event took place at the end of March, said Show Director Eric Nielson.
He attributes this to a triple challenge: Because of scheduling with the Long Beach Convention Center, where it’s held every year, the show had to run more than a month earlier than normal — Feb. 6-8 compared with March 28-30 in 2024. This conflicted with the Southwest Pool & Spa show.
Then part of the organizers’ efforts to get word out were hampered when its marketing materials burned in the January Los Angeles-area fires.
Despite this, traffic remained steady throughout the three days of exhibits.
“[Exhibitors] told me the engagement was even better than normal,” Nielson said.
The co-branding trend was apparent at this event, with organizations such as Pool Nation and Watershape University highlighting its educational slate, which topped 90 sessions.
“We served our function: We had the best education and the opportunity for people to come in, see all the new products and learn as much as they could from all the exhibitors,” Nielson said.
The show held its first welcome event, for which it partnered with Heritage Pool Supply Group, HASA, AquaStar and RayPak. The Queen tribute concert sold out at 800 tickets, with very few ticket holders not showing up, Nielson said.
Additionally, between ticket sales and donations — both corporate and personal — the event raised more than $200,000, which was donated to the PHTA California Fire Relief Fund and Step Into Swim programs.
Nielson expects to continue such events in the future, with proceeds to benefit industry causes.
“I’d been trying to do one for 15 years but the logistics and [price containment] are tough in that area,” he said. Organizers were able to find a walkable venue that wouldn’t require expensive shuttles.
Next year’s Western Pool & Spa Show will take place Feb. 12-14, 2026 at the Long Beach Convention Center.
