CLEVELAND, June 10, 2010 – Marketplace Events announced today that it will expand its footprint in the south with the addition of three new home shows starting in 2011, including launches in North Texas and Oklahoma City and an acquisition in Birmingham, Ala....

CLEVELAND, June 10, 2010 – Marketplace Events announced today that it will expand its footprint in the south with the addition of three new home shows starting in 2011, including launches in North Texas and Oklahoma City and an acquisition in Birmingham, Ala.

In an agreement unlike any other in the consumer show industry, Marketplace Events will partner with Cowboys Stadium to produce the Great Big Texas Home Show in North Texas, March 11‐13, 2011. “This unique partnership allows us to finally bring a world‐class home show to a world‐class facility in Texas - a market we have been looking at for a very long time,” explained Tom Baugh, CEO of Marketplace Events.

The popularity of public tours of the stadium (an average of 1500 people tour the building each day), coupled with the massive amount of state‐of‐the‐art space available — both on and off the field — have led both parties to predict that the Great Big Texas Home Show will become the largest home show in the U.S. by 2015. “With the power of Cowboys Stadium and the additional marketing support we can provide, we have no doubt that this show will quickly become a mainstay in the community and an annual tradition for home and garden enthusiasts across Texas,” said Chad Estis, senior vice president of sales and booking for Cowboys Stadium.

Plans for the 2011 launch include multiple model homes, 20,000 square feet of feature gardens, designer rooms, and more than 600 exhibits located on the field. Marketplace Events is also working on a live appearance by their company spokesperson Ty Pennington of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, who has appeared at five of the company’s shows in the past two years.

Cowboys Stadium is the largest, most technologically advanced sports and entertainment venue in the world. Designed by HKS and built by Manhattan Construction, the $1.2 billion stadium features two monumental arches, the world’s largest HD‐quality video board, an expansive retractable roof and the largest retractable end zone doors in the world.

Marketplace Events is also in the process of acquiring a home show in Birmingham, Ala. and will launch a second show in Oklahoma City in April 2011, a market where the company already produces a successful January show.

The Birmingham show is being purchased from Exposition Enterprises and is a March home and garden show. The OKC Home Show is new and will focus on interior and exterior home improvement and remodeling, while the existing January show in the same market will continue to feature home improvement and interior design exhibits as well as gardens and outdoor living displays.

Baugh attributes the recent growth at Marketplace Events to the company’s ability to successfully launch shows while maintaining increases in both attendance and exhibit space sales at a time when most shows are experiencing declines. On April 22, 2010, immediately following its spring show season, the company announced that attendance at their 18 shows held between January and March 2010 had increased 7% over last year, while exhibit space sales grew 4% over 2009.

Of the 18 shows produced in the spring 2010, three launches, including The Great Big Home & Garden Expo in Cleveland, the Indianapolis Home & Flower Show at Lucas Oil Stadium and the Denver Home Show, have now joined the company’s roster as permanent annual events. “To successfully launch three shows during these economic times, while also increasing attendance and exhibit space sales in our existing shows, says a lot about our company and our people,” explained Baugh.

This announcement brings the Marketplace Events portfolio to 29 home shows produced annually in 20 markets, including nine shows in Canada and 20 in the U.S.

About Marketplace Events
Marketplace Events is the largest producer of consumer home shows in North America. The company’s home shows collectively attract 14,000 exhibitors, 1 million attendees and nearly another 1 million unique web visitors annually. From 12 offices, the 90‐person staff produces some of the most successful and longestrunning home shows in the U.S. and Canada including the National Home Show in Toronto, currently the largest home show in North America. On the web: www.marketplaceevents.com.

About Cowboys Stadium
Cowboys Stadium is the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venue in the world. Designed by HKS and built by Manhattan Construction, the $1.2 billion stadium features two monumental arches, the world's largest HDTV video board, an expansive retractable roof and the largest retractable end zone doors in the world. Features of the stadium include seating up to 100,000, 300 luxury suites, club seating on multiple levels and the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop, open to the public year round. In addition to being the new home of the Dallas Cowboys, the stadium will host the 2011 Super Bowl and the 2014 NCAA men's basketball Final Four as well as high school and college football, concerts and special events. On the web:
www.stadium.dallascowboys.com.