The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE - A gospel songfest convention will decide by October whether to return to Louisville for its annual convention when its current contract ends after 2006.

The National Quartet Convention, a Southern gospel songfest that has brought 40,000 people a year to Louisville since 1994, is also considering Nashville, Tenn., for the 2007-09 conventions.

"We have the luxury of being able to choose between two competitive bids," said Clarke Beasley, the convention's executive vice president.

Beasley said the group's nine-member board will vote on the new contract in October. The deciding factor, Beasley said, may be a survey of convention-goers during this year's session, scheduled for Sept. 13-18 at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center.

Since it began meeting in Louisville a decade ago, the convention has pumped an estimated $10 million into the area economy.

Attendance at the six nightly sessions has more than doubled to about 70,000.

Beasley said the quartet convention also has a long history with Nashville. The group, currently based in Louisville, was headquartered in the Music City and held its national convention there from 1972 through 1993.

The group moved to Louisville because it outgrew the old Nashville Municipal Auditorium, where it was long-housed.

Since then, the city has opened the Gaylord Entertainment Center, which seats more than 16,000 and is attached to a convention center. ---

Information from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com