Move TwitchCon NA Out of Las Vegas
Considering the conversations happening both in-person among attendees and online, it's safe to say a large group of attendees consider that Las Vegas wasn't a great fit as a TwitchCon host city.
TwitchCon is about community and coming together. Except in Las Vegas, due to traffic, large distances and road closures, as well as casinos, shows and other entertainment options, going to the expo floor was more of a hassle and afterthought than the main event.
By moving TwitchCon to a more walkable city, like San Diego [the previous-host city], people spend less time, energy as well as money in getting to the TwitchCon venue which makes creators spend more time on the show floor engaging with their peers and community members, everything TwitchCon stands for.
TwitchCon is also an event where Twitch creators are "always-on" - networking with brands to collaborate with; hosting panels; meeting community members and some even competing in events like Twitch Rivals. Sensory overload is a real thing and Twitch's efforts onsite to provide decompressing spaces, like the Friendship Room, were incredibly appreciated. However, Vegas as a city that's also "always-on", with Casinos and Music running 24/7, felt like even when you were at your hotel you were still not in a place where you could entirely decompress and remove yourself from the narrative.
I do not want to discredit the quality of 2023's show or the LVCC, as it shined as a world-class convention center with grand spaces, a decent food offering, and accessibility, but Las Vegas as a city felt like a not the best fit for what TwitchCon is supposed to be.
I'm not sure what the best option for a TwitchCon 2024 host city is, and I trust that the Twitch team will perform their due diligence as they prepare for next year's show, but wanted to share this idea through official channels to measure interest as well.
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snugibun commented
Vegas to me was extremely difficult from an industry/creator standpoint due to the amount of costs for ubers. If I was an exhibitor the amount of work that I was able to do would have been significantly impacted due to the amount of time spent in transportation to and from the convention floor.
Ubers themselves were extremely pricey, and the Tesla tunnel was not advertised well from the monorail for many people to utilize until they heard about it. While the hotels were cheap the costs of food/transportation didn't equate the money I was saving on a hotel.
Not only that, but in other locations when Twitch con is happening I am able to run into creators/community/industry individuals at a much higher rate than Vegas. While the convention center itself was amazing anything off-site was difficult.
The twitch con party was much better this year due to it being more of an experience and less of a concert.
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GryffinSunquill commented
I wholeheartedly agree. After a night of drinking, the traffic was so bad that it took us an hour to go a mile in our Lyft. We weren’t close to a monorail station, so it was our only option.
For a platform that sells itself as being all about community, Vegas isn’t really an accessible city. Some in my group kept dealing with asthma from all the smoke, some I met weren’t 21+ so they couldn’t fully experience the times they did go out, and other experiences didn’t hit as hard because you’d be exhausted from walking all day and then having to deal with the hassle of nighttime travel. I know some loved Vegas, and that’s all fine and good, but the majority of people I spoke to were uncomfortable and not satisfied with Vegas as a setting.
San Diego was by far the best TwitchCon experience I had, and for me personally, it blows Vegas out of the water. Having the Con on a weekend where a handful of other major events had been happening wasn’t the best move either.
Con itself: 8/10
Location: 4/10 -
AznSlickSlaya commented
Sorry. I disagree.
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riot983 commented
@monistreams Las Vegas was amazing. 1. Hotels were cheap 2. The monorail was easy and affordable transportation to and from the event. 3. Las Vegas is incredibly safe, I couldn't walk 100 yards without seeing law enforcement. 4. The local shows and attractions were a great activity for after Twitchcon to hangout with friends.
~20,000 people attend Twitchcon. Saying "a large group of attendees consider that Las Vegas wasn't a great fit as a TwitchCon" is wrong.
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LilaBoBina commented
i was unsafe, i was unhappy and I felt a lot of my time was tied up in transport. i hated how crowded and how hard it was to get to anywhere and nothing was really fun except the few parties that were provided. casinos and night clubs were not the move cause they were set up to drain pockets.
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Wolf6_Actual commented
I spent more money this year at TwitchCon because of transportation than I did in San Diego and I live in Vegas.
A walkable city should be the norm. If TwitchCon is going to be held regularly in Vegas can we some shuttles that will have drop offs and pick ups at block hotels?
San Diego Comic Con has 24/7 shuttles during their event to cover transportation at all block hotels.
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No_Lollygaggin commented
Please go back to San Diego! Vegas was a huge struggle for almost every person I spoke with it is also very exclusionary to anyone under 21 who attended.
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Britishbrat commented
I absolutely agree that while Vegas is an amazing and fun experience: it does not work well for a convention like this.
Overall it's too difficult to juggle the focus of the con and the sights/things to do in Vegas. Vegas is it's own focus for a trip, and I know myself and others were too burned out to fully enjoy both the con and try and make the best of the city.
Not to mention other issues like cost, walkability, weather, and access. San Diego just feels like a much more realistic venue.
Overall I think the floor space and venue itself were top notch, but the city was just not a good spot.
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AliAvali commented
I get this... but at the same time being a local understand how the system works. Kinda wished that Twitch showcased more of the main strip, telling people about the monorail, Convention loop, and bus (bus for usual travel, or connecting main strip and fremont exp) I feel Twitch should ask people if they are a veteran during registration and if so talk about the rewards programs at the resorts that will give them free parking at the various resorts (besides other discounts).
Talking to friends and others, I asked what they would normally be doing after con hours. The general consensus was 'just go bar hopping', so... vegas but with gambling and show options? Not everything is spend spend spend or drinking. I live about 15 minutes from the convention / Flamingo, I would park at the Flamingo then ride the monorail to the convention halls (~35$ for 4 days) then ride the HyperLoop (free). So traveling from home (15min), Walking from parking to Tram (~10min), tram to central convention station (~10-15min), loop (5 min); so prob total from Home to Con, about 30min?
With this being Twitch's first year here, I do apologize about the F1 experience messing it up for everyone. But I feel that Twitch could have done better talking about travel, lodging, and various non-convention items to do.
I am also seeing weather being brought up... this is abnormal for Vegas this time of year, usually it's 50s at night, upper 70s-mid80s during peak day.