Custom Chrome (CCI) has announced that the 2011 Custom Chrome Dealer Show will be headquartered at the Santa Clara Convention Center, March 19 and 20.

With a recent expansion now complete, the Convention Center boasts 302,000 square feet of space and will provide Custom Chrome with the facilities and technical requirements needed to continue growing the popular Dealer Show.

Past vendor participants and the many new ones coming on board will find the best facilities available to hold educational seminars and discussions, with the hundreds of dealers expected to attend. Along with ample space, the new location will provide Custom Chrome the support needed to continue giving vendors and dealers the fantastic package of great food, great seminars, great after-hours fun and the personal touch that Custom Chrome is known for.

“In bringing back the Custom Chrome Dealer Show in 2010, we wanted to keep the return of the Dealer Show a bit more intimate,” says CCI President and CEO Holger Mohr. “The response and attendance was so overwhelmingly positive that we completely stuffed last year’s location in terms of vending space, hotel rooms and overall facilities. For next year, we had to look for a location that could handle not only vendor booths and meeting rooms but also provide even higher levels of service that our dealers, vendors and visitors demand.”

Also, in an exciting first move for vendors, dealers and Custom Chrome, the Santa Clara Convention Center’s doors will be open to the general public on Sunday, March 20. A real first in the U.S. for a distributor, having motorcycle owners and riders interacting with aftermarket vendors provides a way to engage their true end users in a more controlled environment than a big bike rally and provides more value.

“We have seen firsthand the tremendous value of having a ‘public day’ at our Custom Chrome Europe Dealer Show. For years, it has been the most attended and most popular Dealer Show in Europe from a vendor and dealer perspective," says VP of Sales and Marketing Steve Veltri. “Our vendors have asked for something similar here in California, and we have responded in kind. At the end of the day, motorcycle owners buy the products we all sell, and letting them see an early ‘sneak peek’ at 2011 new products will get them excited and buying more, earlier in the season.”

New for the 2011 Dealer Show will also be the finals of the Chrome International Bike Show Series – North American Championship Bike Show. The Championship will be open to all custom bike builders and customizers from the United States, Canada and South America and will provide an exciting finale to weekend’s activities.

In addition, Custom Chrome also announced the dates of the Custom Chrome Europe 2011 Dealer Show will be March 26 and 27, with Sunday being open to the general public as in past years.

“The one-on-ones with tons of vendors to learn more and get a thorough education about products, hands-on and in-depth, that’s what I enjoy most about the Custom Chrome Dealer Show," says nine-year CCI dealer Sparky at Lifestyle Cycles in Orange County, Calif. “I get the opportunity to sit down with my sales rep and go over sales and future plans — that what makes my future business profitable.”

For more information, please contact your appropriate Custom Chrome representative.