Saturday, May 13, 2000
Convention plan needs salesman
Task force seeks public support
By Robert Anglen
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The goal of the task force studying a proposed convention center expansion is not just to find a way to pay for the $400 million project, but to sell it to the public.
At its first meeting Friday, the task force concluded that residents don't support the project because they don't understand the benefits.
“We need a local buy-in,” said Cliff Bailey, president of Techsoft System. “We have to get the message out ... so this becomes a rallying point for the whole community.”
The single biggest selling point: jobs. An estimated 3,000 if the center is expanded from 551,000 square feet to about 1.5 million.
Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken created the task force after expansion plans stalled because of a lack of financing. He said people think of the convention center the way they do about Paul Brown Stadium.
He said to many residents, the convention center is just another expensive project and they aren't sure where all the money is going.
That is just one of the issues facing the 14-member task force, which will ultimately decide the best place to locate the center, how to fund it, and select a construction consultant.
In a round-table setting at the Queen City Club, members — business executives, community leaders, convention officials and local politicians — discussed the next steps.
Among these are petitioning the state for more money, getting contributions from Kentucky to help market the center, and going over previous designs.
A plan advanced by the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau would have doubled the size of the convention center by bridging Interstate 75. Cost: $400 million.
While all task force members agree the expansion is needed to attract bigger and better conventions, the question is whether there is a cheaper way to do it.
To help fund the expansion — which was recommended in a 1995 Price Waterhouse study — the city has committed $51 million in bonds. Another $18 million would come from a hotel room tax increase that would go into effect when the business community raises $20 million. Although that $20 million was expected in January, the deadline has been extended by Cincinnati City Council.
Delta Air Lines has pledged $30 million for naming rights.
While there were almost no answers Friday, task force members said they are committed to making something happen by the end of the year. The task force will meet again in a month.
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