The Geeks of Victoria will most likely be mourning a loss of a gaming convention. It did an admirable job of hanging on for more than five years. When compared to other nerdy conventions that ran in this city (toy shows don’t count), that’s twice the power but thrice the bad luck since it’s move from the Pearkes Recreation Centre. In a statement issued Monday evening, Gottacon Conventions will no longer be continuing. They cite financial losses and the lack of internal support to keep on going.
Hopefully other shows can help carry on the torch, as this city needs more geeks with power to keep nerdom alive.
The full press release is as follows:
It is with great regret that GottaCon Conventions announces that the 2015 event held earlier this year, was our last show.
The decision to discontinue the event indefinitely was one of the hardest choices that Carson and Evan have ever had to make. GottaCon saw seven very successful shows that were planned over the last decade and saw positive growth every year. But in the end the challenges we faced after our 2015 event were just too much to overcome. Keeping with our desire to inform our fan base, here are the reasons why.
A decade of personal sacrifice has taken its toll on both of us and with a substantial financial loss after our 2015 event it nearly broke our spirit. After much soul searching, we decided to continue the event but then the challenges started to pile up. It started with the loss of management staff and since the end of the event we were down three managers that were going to be a real challenge to replace but not a show stopper.
In May we were made aware of City of Victoria policy changes that were going to alter how the City and the Victoria Conference Centre could support GottaCon. We had meetings with the Victoria Conference Centre and the City of Victoria to review the situation. It wasn’t until end of June that we found a solution. But, that very day, we were notified that our event dates at the end of February 2016 were no longer available and the only possible weekend was March 11 to 13, 2016. These dates were not possible due to conflicts with spring break, post secondary exam periods, other local and North American conventions as well as the careers of the two owners.
These collective challenges were just too much.
It is so very hard for us to let this show go as we have lived and breathed GottaCon for such a long time that it is and always will be a part of us. Who knows, maybe it will return one day.
Before we sign off, we want to take the time to express our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to all the great communities, volunteers, event staff, sponsors, exhibitors, guests and attendees who helped make GottaCon possible. You inspired us, and made us feel appreciated. I just hope that we did the same for you.
Sincerely,
Carson and Evan
