Northern Illinois Anime Culture Club - Wizard World Boston 2006 Canceled

Wizard announced today the cancellation of Wizard World Boston. Scheduled for October 6th through 8th this year, the convention would have been the company's 2nd annual event in Boston, Massachusetts. Martha Donato, Vice President/Business Development for Wizard Entertainment Group, spoke with us this afternoon concerning the decision.

Donato said that the decision came down to concerns shared by both Wizard and their exhibitors about costs associated with conducting a convention within the city of Boston. Donato stressed that the cancellation was in no way a reflection of the fans interest or participation in the event; the fans were "really wonderful," according to Donato.

While Donato could not point to any specific obstacle that would have to be cleared, she said that Wizard would not rule out returning to Boston in the future if the economic picture improved. "It's a great place to have a show," said Donato.

When asked if this new hole in Wizard's convention schedule would be filled by a convention in another city, Donato replied that while Wizard was always looking for "new cities and new opportunities for our exhibitors," they have no plans or announcements to make at this time.

Wizard's official announcement is below:

"After speaking to our exhibitors and partners, all of whom shared our concerns about the outside costs of doing business at this time, Wizard World Boston has been cancelled. This is an industry decision, and we want to do what's best for the industry. We are thankful to the 8,800 fans that attended last year's event and hope to return to Boston in the near future. We're now focused on making sure that our other scheduled 2006 events in L.A., Philly, Chicago and Texas are the best Wizard World shows ever."

http://www.comicbookconventions.com/forum/index.php?topic=2874.0/