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SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake Comic Con has expanded its reach on the Utah nerd convention circuit, buying a 50 percent stake in Salt Lake Gaming Con.
The gaming convention touts itself as one of the top 10 events of its kind in the country, attracting 15,000 gamers at its inaugural event in 2015. The business deal comes just in time for this year's Salt Lake Gaming Con, happening June 2-4 at the South Towne Expo Center.
Salt Lake Comic Con co-founder Dan Farr said the organizers of the two cons have had a friendly relationship from the beginning and appeared at each other's events, but talks of a partnership came about just this week.
"It was kind of one of those things you look at and you really don't have to wait that long to make a decision," Farr said. "We talked about each of our needs and what our goals are, and we found that we were pretty aligned, so it moved really, really quickly."
Farr said there was a "mutual attraction" between the budding gaming con and the pop culture event that has become Utah's largest convention in less than three years.
Jake Williams, the founder of Salt Lake Gaming Con, said he believes his event can benefit from comic con's logistical experience and marketing reach, while funneling a niche interest to the larger convention in exchange.
"As you get started with a convention, you always have hiccups as you go, but working with comic con is going to help us get to where we want to be a lot faster," Williams said.
Before launching the instantly successful local comic con, both Farr and co-founder Bryan Brandenburg worked in video game and illustration companies.
Along with a lineup of gaming-related guests such as voice and motion capture actor Steven Ogg and representatives from Nintendo, PlayStation and Microsoft, Salt Lake Gaming Con boasts more than 40 tournaments on a variety of gaming platforms, including consoles and PCs, as well as board, tabletop and card games.
Guests also have a chance to try out any of 700 free board games, a variety of gaming consoles and computer games, a haunted house, live action role play known as "larping," an exhibit hall and a variety of panels. All activities are included in the price of admission.
While Salt Lake Comic Con is known for its impressive celebrity lineup, the gaming con focuses on an interactive experience.
"We're more an experience-driven convention," Williams said. "Our goal is to have people walking out with a smile and going, 'That was a lot of fun. I can't wait until next year.'"
This is the second expansion by Salt Lake Comic Con, which announced a partnership with POP Life Entertainment prior to its FanX event in March. Together, Utah's premier geek convention and the company behind the wide-eyed Funko Pop! vinyl figurines depicting pop culture characters will put on events this year in the Philippines, China and Thailand.
Together, the partnership put on its first international event last month in Guangzhou, China, attracting 160,000 people over three days.
Salt Lake Comic Con will return to the Salt Palace Convention Center on Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-3. Last fall, the event topped 120,000 guests at its peak. Guests announced so far include Salt Lake Comic Con alumni William Shatner, the original Captain Kirk in "Star Trek," and Lou Ferrigno, "The Incredible Hulk"; Michael Rooker, "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "The Walking Dead"; Ian Somerhalder, "The Vampire Diaries" and "Lost"; and "The Dukes of Hazzard" trio John Schneider, Tom Wopat and Catherine Bach.
