The largest pet event in the D.C. region is leaving Fairfax County.
With the Dulles Expo Center, their home of 25 years, permanently closing in Chantilly this month, Super Pet Expo organizers will bring their showcase for local pet businesses, nonprofits and experts to Manassas Mall next year instead.
A show will be held at the shopping center in Prince William County from March 13-15 — roughly the same dates that Super Pet Expo has maintained over the years in Chantilly, producer Eric Udler confirmed to FFXnow on Dec. 1.
In an earlier interview conducted before a new location was determined, Udler said his team was “absolutely shocked” to learn that the Swedish furniture giant Ikea will be taking over the Dulles Expo Center, one of the few venues in Fairfax County with the capacity to host trade shows, conventions and other large-scale events.
While he respects the property owner’s right to determine how to use the site, Udler said his heart still “bleeds” for the 200-plus vendors who rely on Super Pet Expo as a marketing platform and the workers employed at the exposition center.
“It’s the holiday time, and so, here you have people managing the building that are losing their jobs at a tough time of year in a tough economy. I mean, to me, it’s all about the human side of it,” Udler said. “… That’s kind of the stinger for me there. But I totally get why the building was leased to IKEA. It was a smart business decision the owners made, and I respect it.”
Originally opened in a former Kmart in 1995, the Capital Expo Center was rebranded as the Dulles Expo Center when the Pence Group, a Reston-based real estate developer, took over as the sole owners and operators of the property in 2002. Coincidentally, the last event hosted under the previous manager was the Super Pet Expo, the Washington Post reported at the time.
The possibility of Ikea taking over the center at 4320 Chantilly Shopping Center began trickling out in July, with the Washington Business Journal reporting that the company had submitted an application to Fairfax County for a restaurant.
Ikea officially announced on Oct. 30 that it will open a nearly 110,000-square-foot store, replacing the Dulles Expo Center, in spring 2026. Pence Group will hand over the building later this month after the center’s final shows — the International Gem and Jewelry Show and Greenberg’s Train & Toy Show — close on Dec. 21.
Dulles Expo Managing Partner Geoff Pence described the change in lease as “the end of an era” in a statement released on Oct. 31.
“For 25 years, Dulles Expo has featured a superb variety of trade shows serving residents of the DMV and beyond. We are so appreciative of all the promoters and customers who have made this a special place where people come together to share common interests, sometimes multiple times a year. We especially want to thank all our past and present employees for their outstanding contributions to this business over the years.”
The Pence family expressed confidence that the expo center’s “spirit of bringing people together” will carry over when Ikea opens its store.
Over the years, Dulles Expo was home to a range of events, from craft fairs and the D.C. Big Flea to gun shows and the adult performer convention Exxxotica, which returned last weekend.
The DMV Chocolate and Coffee Festival ended a four-year run at the center in November. At the time, organizers John and Lindsay Hill said they were still evaluating potential new venues in the hopes of continuing to support small businesses in the D.C. area.
Fairfax Comic Con, which most recently assembled in August and has been an annual event since 2018, is also searching for a new location for 2026.
“We’re definitely sad to see the Dulles Expo Center close — its staff has been amazing partners with us over the years,” Mike Federali, Fairfax Comic Con and Anime Fairfax organizer, said in a statement to FFXnow. “On our end, we’re working hard to find a new home that the fans will love.”
For Super Pet Expo, Udler said they hoped to remain in Northern Virginia, since most of its vendors and visitors are local.
Started in 2001, Super Pet Expo identifies itself as the largest consumer pet event on the East Coast, featuring a variety of educational panels, demonstrations and classes, retail vendors, a puppy playground, a fashion show, a doggie derby and other activities. In addition to the Northern Virginia event, which is typically held every March, the expo has a show coming to New Jersey on Jan. 9-11.
“As the largest pet event in the DMV, we’ve worked real hard to bring everyone together under one roof for a weekend of everything pet-related, to celebrate pets, and to shop for cool pet products,” Udler said.
Super Pet Expo isn’t the only Dulles Expo mainstay moving to Manassas Mall.
According to the WBJ, the Nation’s Gun Show is slated to take over the mall’s shuttered At Home store on Jan. 2-4, potentially setting the stage for the 85,000-square-foot storefront to be converted into a permanent events venue.
The owner of Dulles Town Center in Sterling is also seeking to fill the void soon to be opened by Dulles Expo’s closure. The development’s former Lord & Taylor space at 21050 Dulles Town Circle will be transformed into a 120,000-square-foot multipurpose venue called DTC Expo in spring 2026, the Loudoun Times-Mirror reported.
Visit Fairfax President and CEO Barry Biggar, whose organization promotes Fairfax County as a tourism destination, acknowledged that the loss of Dulles Expo “will be felt within the tourism economy,” affecting the hotels, restaurants and other businesses that benefitted from the mostly local visitors who attended shows at the center as well as the events themselves.
While the expo center is “a truly unique asset in Fairfax County,” he suggested that the change could open the door to new opportunities.
“As the only venue of its kind in the county, its departure leaves a noticeable gap in our event infrastructure,” Biggar said in a statement. “Yet as our tourism economy continues to evolve, we see tremendous opportunity ahead. This moment invites new partnerships, new investment, and innovative solutions that will allow Fairfax County to meet the needs of event organizers and attract new opportunities for years to come.”
