Chicago Boat Show opens in Rosemont after decades at McCormick Place

ROSEMONT, Ill. (WLS) -- It might be winter, but the hottest ticket in town for fun on the water kicked off Wednesday

The annual Chicago Boat Show drops anchor in Rosemont. Now through Sunday people can come aboard all types of boats and watercraft.

The show is now moored to Rosemont after decades of calling McCormick Place it's home harbor.

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It will likely be months before the boats will be in the water in Chicago, but folks attending the boat show can dream of sunny days ahead spent on the deck of a new boat. The convention is the place to find one.

"My wife is around here somewhere, I wouldn't tell her that, but absolutely [shopping]," boater Calvin Flood said.

Well the secret's out now, and word is also out about the boat show's new location, Rosemont. With a snip of the scissors, the doors opened on the 93rd edition of the show. After nearly a century in Chicago, the show has a new home this year: the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.

Libertyville resident Steve August and his friends were there from the far north suburbs.

"I know how easy it is to get to Rosemont and from my house in Libertyville than McCormick," August said. "This is way more convenient."

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Organizers say boat dealers wanted to move the show out to Rosemont, where it's closer to more of their customers, more convenient to get to and less expensive to set up.

"We're closer to our core audience," Boat Show manager Darren Envall said.

With people utilizing trailer-able boats, Envall says this year's show is actually bigger than previous shows in Chicago, with more square feet and more boats, from the big yachts to the smaller fishing boats. He says advance ticket sales are up.

The convention center is named for Convention Center Executive Director Chris Stephens' late grandfather, long time Rosemont Mayor Donald E. Stephens, who collected vintage boats.

"A show like this brings in a lot of attendees," Chris Stephens said. "So it'll have a great financial impact on the village of Rosemont."

After 92 years of the boat show in Chicago, Rosemont officials say it's been nothing but smooth sailing there, and they're hoping this is the first of many shows to come to Rosemont.