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	A smaller convention center? Consultant suggests project at any size would run millions in red Tuesday, May 03, 2005 Tom Breckenridge Plain Dealer Reporter A convention industry struggling with declining attendance and surplus exhibit space means Cleveland can downsize its view of a new convention center, a consultant's report shows. A smaller center would still run in the red, needing millions of dollars in subsidies, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said in a study released Monday by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Convention Facilities Authority. At the same time, a cutting-edge convention center - built on the riverfront behind Tower City or remodeled at the current Lakeside Avenue site - will help the region claim its share of the convention and trade show market, the consultant says. It would also deliver hundreds of thousands of new visitors downtown and a big boost in jobs and tax revenue, according to the report. The Convention Facilities Authority, created to pick a site and financing plan for a new center, will discuss the report during a public meeting at 9:30 a.m. today in Room 211 of the Cleveland Convention Center, 500 Lakeside Ave. A contingent led by convention authority Chairman William Reidy revealed the report's findings on Monday to business, city, county and suburban leaders. The authority is paying up to $150,000 for the report. The report clearly shows Cleveland "should still be in the convention and trade show business," said Peter Bastulli, chairman of the authority's finance committee. "We have a heck of a lot of work to do." Less than two years ago, community leaders believed the city needed to replace its antiquated convention center with one featuring exhibit space of up to 400,000 square feet. That was based in part on PricewaterhouseCoopers recommendations in 2000. But on Monday, PricewaterhouseCoopers laid out market and fiscal effects under two scenarios: a center with 200,000 square feet of exhibit space and one with 300,000 square feet. The recommendation for a smaller center results from declines in the convention industry, because of the impact of Sept. 11 and the dot-com bust, said consultant Rob Canton. Attendance is starting to rebound, but exhibit space has shot up, with about 40 cities building new or expanded convention centers in recent years. Cleveland is struggling in the market. Compared with nine competing cities, the Cleveland center's square footage makes up 7 percent of the supply but it services only 2.5 percent of the demand, the report said. Under the 200,000-square-foot scenario, a new convention center could capture a "vast majority" of Cleveland's potential demand, including 30 more trade shows a year, versus 10 a year if nothing is done, the report showed. Attendance would jump to 325,000 attendees for conventions, consumer shows and meetings, the report shows. Attendance doubles to 650,000 a year with 300,000 square feet of exhibit space, the report says. That would result from consumer shows jumping to 25 a year, from the five shows a year at the current convention center, which has 278,000 square feet in its main exhibit hall. But the jump in consumer shows occurs only if the International Exposition Center in Brook Park closes and its shows head downtown. That leaves the convention authority with tough questions to answer in the coming weeks. Should it recommend a center with 200,000 square feet of exhibit space, to be complemented by the I-X Center? Or should it push for razing the I-X Center and building a more costly center with 300,000 square feet of exhibit space? The benefit for the county could include $284 million in sales, $110 million in new wages and 4,200 more jobs, the report says. Tearing down the I-X Center would mean extra costs. Under a deal struck with Cleveland several years ago, the I-X Center owner would be paid $16 million if the building is torn down in 2009, when a new convention center could open. To boost a new convention center, an adjoining 600-room hotel should also be built, the report said. The profit and occupancy of a hotel at the Tower City site would be somewhat higher than a hotel at the current site, the report noted, because the Tower City site is closer to more retail and entertainment venues. The convention authority hopes to pick a site by next month and present a financing plan to city and county leaders in July. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: tbreckenridge@plaind.com, 216-999-4695 © 2005 The Plain Dealer © 2005 cleveland.com All Rights Reserved	<< Back
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