By Ken Alltucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A group that describes itself as the largest African-American religious organization in the nation is expected to announce today that it plans to bring a 25,000-delegate national convention to Cincinnati in 2008.

The Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau has scheduled a 1:30 p.m. news conference to announce the decision by the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Inc. While leaders of the Philadelphia-based religious group couldn't be reached Monday night, bureau and city of Cincinnati sources confirmed that the Baptist organization selected Cincinnati over Cleveland.

The meeting at the Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center would be the largest in Cincinnati in more than a decade, with an expected 18,000 hotel room-night bookings over five days. Lodgers would spill over from downtown's 3,500 rooms to hotels in Northern Kentucky and northern Hamilton County. According to Smith Travel Research, there are more than 8,000 hotel rooms in the region.

The National Baptist conference is expected to generate an economic impact of about $21.5 million for the region, according to the bureau.

The bureau and a consortium of 25 downtown and suburban hotels and restaurants seeking a major booking for the expanded convention center have pursued the National Baptists for several months.

City and hospitality interests say landing such a large group signals an important victory over interests who have discouraged predominately African-American conventions, entertainers and others from coming to Cincinnati since the unrest of April 2001.

"From my point of view, I consider this a very big win," said Mayor Charlie Luken. "We all worked very hard on this, and we're excited to welcome them here."

Hosting the National Baptists' group "would signal a change for racial harmony," said Scott Allen, president of the Cincinnati Hotel Association. "I've talked to members and pastors, and I think they want to work with the city to create a more accurate image of the changes the city has made," Allen said.

The Rev. Damon Lynch III, president of the Cincinnati Black United Front, said he urged the National Baptist group to bypass Cincinnati following the death of an African-American man, Nathaniel Jones, whose death while being arrested by police was attributed to the struggle and his health.

Lynch said he asked the group to either reject Cincinnati or leverage their choice of the city to highlight economic and social issues of African-American Cincinnatians.

In 2002, the predominately African-American Progressive National Baptist group canceled its convention at the urging of the Black United Front and others organizing the boycott. With an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 delegates, the convention would have generated $8 million to $15 million for the city. The National Urban League, too, dropped its scheduled 2003 convention after the suspension of the Cincinnati Police Department's highest-ranking African-American officer.

The bureau and downtown hoteliers have appealed to the Progressive Baptists' group to return its convention to Cincinnati in 2006. The group would be one of the first to host a meeting in the $160 million, expanded and renovated downtown convention center, which will open in phases in 2006. The status of the Progressive Baptists' meeting was unclear Monday.

The convention bureau has attempted to court large groups in 2006 and beyond following the opening of the convention center expansion, but it acknowledges the next two years could be difficult for downtown hotels because of limited space available while the center is under construction.

Besides Luken and Allen, others participating in today's announcement include the Rev. H.L. Harvey, Pastor of New Friendship Baptist Church, Vice Mayor Alicia Reece, bureau chief executive Lisa Haller and Hamilton County officials.

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E-mail kalltucker@enquirer.com