ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 25, 1996 TAG: 9602270134
SECTION: BOAT SHOW PAGE: BS-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
It still is called the Southwest Virginia Boat Show. You won't find the word ``fishing'' in the title.
But Mike Fielder and Sonny Conner, the new co-chairmen of the show, know that fishing is the lure that attracts many people to boating.
Sure, some are into boating just to sail, ski, cruise or buzz about on a personal watercraft; however, boating wouldn't be nearly as big if it weren't for fishing. In fact, Fielder and Conner say their business, at Advantage Marine in Roanoke, would be off 40 percent without fishing.
So the 1996 edition of the boat show, scheduled Friday through Sunday at the Roanoke Civic Center, will give fishing a higher profile.
``The first thing we did when they asked us to take over the show was to sit down and look at the fishing part of our business,'' Fielder said. ``We felt like we had abandoned it. We have people driving to the Bassarama in Richmond three hours, going there and looking at exactly the same equipment that is available locally. There is no reason for that. We have it here. We need to keep our people here.''
That doesn't mean a downscaling of non-fishing boats in the show, Fielder said.
``The boat buyer who walks into the show is going to be looking at more boats this year than anytime they have been able to since the boating-boom year of 1988,'' Fielder said.
The boating business has enjoyed smooth sailing the past three years, and there is nothing like prosperity to expand the inventory and enthusiasm of dealers.
``I know, myself, my inventory is bigger than it ever has been,'' Fielder said. ``The show is going to have more than 400 boats.''
What's more, the number of small exhibitors is going to be expanded. At least three of them will display fishing tackle.
``We aren't going to turn this into a Bassarama show, but if you want to put it on a percentage basis, this show needs to be 40 percent fishing,'' Fielder said. ``If people are only interested in the fishing segment of it, they need to be able to come to the show and feel like they are getting their money's worth.''
This year's emphasis on fishing won't hit the 40 percent mark, but Fielder hopes that will be the case a year or two from now. By next year, he expects the show to feature a major bass fishing pro.
``We would have had a bass pro this year, but the Texas Shootout Tournament is the same weekend,'' he said. ``We tried for every pro that was out there and every one of them was committed to this tournament. That is the only reason we won't have one. When those guys can fish for $100,000, they are going to the tournament rather than work a show for us.''
Fielder and Conner are taking over leadership of the show from Ed Graves, owner of Valley Marine Center in Roanoke. Graves has been show chairman since 1973, the year the event was moved from Salem to the Roanoke Civic Center.
A major boat dealer in the area for 35 years, Graves operated under the theory that the show is a giant warehouse of boats where people come to do serious comparison shopping. Side shows can be a distraction.
Fielder and Conner hope the emphasis on fishing, along with efforts to beef up the number of small displays, will attract more show viewers.
``I am definitely going to be disappointed if we don't have more attendance this year,'' Fielder said. ``Hopefully, the people will support us this year by seeing the fishing coming on and we can expand on it.'' Attendance has been averaging around 4,500.
As for Graves, ``He's never received the appreciation he deserves,'' Fielder said. ``I've called him 100 times asking questions. I don't know if I want to carry it as long as he has.''
The show's admission fee remains $4.50, and will be collected at the parking gate rather than the ticket booth. Parking will be free, Fielder said.
``The rent went up on the civic center,'' he said. ``Instead of passing that on, the dealers are absorbing it.''
While the number of small displays in the show will be increased, Fielder and Conner say they have been careful to make sure everything in the show is boating related.
``The person who bought a boat a year ago and is satisfied with it, he really isn't looking for a new boat, but he may be interested in a stereo for it,'' Fielder said. ``Well, he can come look at stereo equipment.''
So what does the golf cart display have to do with boating?
``Golf carts have gotten real popular on Smith Mountain Lake,'' Fielder said. ``People who live on the lake use them to drive down to their boat dock.''
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON/Staff. Mike Fielder (left) and Sonnyby CNBConner are the new co-chairmen of the boat show.