By Kevin Aldridge
and Ken Alltucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

It took 18 months, a load of concessions and a dogged pursuit by Cincinnati's hospitality interests and political leaders to convince the nation's largest African-American religious group to bring its national convention to Cincinnati in 2008.

Local representatives of the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. said Tuesday that they chose Cincinnati because of the city's overall package and a pledge of "meaningful progress" in addressing economic and social concerns raised by African-American leaders.

"This will open the door for other conventions," said the Rev. H.L. Harvey Jr., pastor of New Friendship Baptist Church and a key figure in persuading the Philadelphia-based group to choose Cincinnati despite the nearly 3-year-old economic boycott against the city.

The announcement of the convention raised questions about whether the boycott was dead - a point of view hotly contested by those aligned with that cause.

"This is no different than when the Urban League announced that they were coming in 2003 or when the Progressive Baptists announced that they were coming. And we all know that they didn't come," said the Rev. Damon Lynch III, president of the Cincinnati Black United Front. "... The effort continues."

Harvey said National Baptist President William J. Shaw, who did not attend Tuesday's announcement, was convinced by letters and visits by Cincinnati's leaders detailing reforms since the April 2001 riots. The group also believes that bringing 18,000 to 25,000 delegates to Cincinnati could do more good than harm for Cincinnati's African-American communities, Harvey said.

The convention will generate $15.4 million to $21.5 million for the region, the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates.

Lisa Haller, the bureau's chief executive, said landing the city's largest convention in more than a decade is an important step for the city's struggling convention business. But she acknowledges that getting the group comes at a price.

The bureau agreed to offer the Baptists use of the expanded downtown convention center for free. That's not an uncommon request in the ultra-competitive convention business, Haller said.

Other incentives include:

• $50,000 for the Baptists' "President's Banquet" that will include 1,000 to 1,500 people.

• A hotel room refund that will award the Baptists 10 percent of all the room rent paid by convention-goers. With an average room rate of $100 per night and with an expected 17,000 room-night bookings, the rebate could return about $170,000 to the Baptists' group.

• One limousine, a driver and six luxury sedans for use by conference participants. Also, conference attendees will get access to downtown shuttles and special transportation rates from the airport.

• Hosting four separate trips for a four-person site team before the convention. These visits would include free airfare, hotels, meals and ground transportation.

The boycott gained momentum after comedian Bill Cosby canceled shows at the Aronoff Center for the Arts in February 2002, citing the city's racial climate. Several big-name entertainers and conventions followed suit over the next 10 months, depriving the city of an estimated $10 million in revenue.

But in the past year, boycott organizers have made more headlines for infighting than event cancellations.

E-mail kaldridge@enquirer.com and kalltucker@enquirer.com