During the mid-1980s, the show organizers hosted annual one-day "Minicons" every December.

A four-year depression in the boating industry has forced show organizers to search for inspiration in offering new ways to entice the public.

For show organizers, though, the armory can be a money mill.

Unlike most fairs in New York, which are the invention of professional show organizers, this one, like the Gramercy, is being put together by dealers.

The show organizers claimed that 153,000 people attended the 2012 show, a 2% increase from the previous year and a new all time attendance record.

The one-floor layout is expected to appeal to trade show organizers who prize large open floors that allow the continuous layout of exhibitions.

And through it all, the show organizers managed to keep them all apart.

The experimental two-city format was the show organizers' response to the limited size of the Basel convention center.

One difficulty still facing the center's management and the trade show organizers is meeting tight schedules to set up and dismantle exhibitions.

Mr. Konheim said of the show organizers: "Everything they're doing is great, but they're trying to handle too many things.