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To build, or not to build?

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

-via Black Hills Pioneer

By Heather Murschel

Spearfish convention center expansion board relays risks of $5.3M project to city

SPEARFISH — The proposed $5.3 million convention center expansion entails several “substantial risks” for both the city of Spearfish and the tourism related businesses that would pay additional taxes to fund the project if it was constructed.

After the city council approved a resolution to create its third Business Improvement District (BID) in December 2012, a board consisting of Scott Stampe, Stephanie Adams, Jim Hess, Greg Krier, Clair Donovan, Barry Bibler, and Don Brune were appointed to review the financial feasibility of the project, as well as determine a fair and equitable rate the potential businesses in the district would pay.

After meeting diligently for three months and fielding questions regarding the project, their conclusions on whether to move forward or not were revealed Monday.

“The proposed expansion could be good for the future, but there are substantial risks involved that need to be considered before making a decision,” Scott Stampe said of the board’s conclusions. “There are just so many unknowns at this point.”

First and foremost, he said, the Holiday Inn would need to renovate the building.

“If funded, the expansion should be contingent on the hotel renovation, and until this happens we believe the project should be shelved,” Stampe said. “It’s quite a few decades old, and though regular maintenance has been done and it looks adequate, we’ve learned that the host facility needs to have the appearance of a new facility for the expansion to be successful.”

He said they made the determination after considering the results of a $25,000 feasibility study Hunden Strategic Partners conducted last year, which reviewed several factors, including economic benefits, what people look for when determining a location, and surveying trade organizations to determine the latest trends.

The other risks involved, Stampe explained, include the abundance of regional competition, the lack of parking and that the hotel may not have enough rooms to accommodate larger events.

“We believe these risks should be reevaluated when the renovation occurs,” Stampe said.

Spearfish City Administrator Joe Neeb said the Holiday Inn relayed information that they are open to the idea, but the details have yet to be revealed.

“I agree that it would improve the convention experience, so this is something that should be discussed further,” Neeb said.

When it comes to the 82 tourism and leisure related businesses provided with an option to pay an additional tax to fund the project, Stampe said the majority of them are hesitant because the only businesses to benefit economically are located at Exit 14.

“They believe the impact of a new facility will not go beyond that area and that an equal assessment of businesses community-wide is not fair,” he said.  “If funded, it should be a partnership between the city and those businesses located in the area.”

After relaying the risks, he presented an option that rather than financing a project of this magnitude, they should reallocate their resources to spend on marketing Spearfish, drawing in new events and putting effort toward targeting existing ones that are held elsewhere.

When asked if this is what the BID board would like to see happen, Stampe said that is the feeling at this point.

After his presentation, he commended city council members for initiating the board.

“It was a wise move on your part to have these individauls come together to ponder these questions because it will give you some insight into the politics when it comes to the expansion,” Stampe said.

The proposal expansion has been on the city’s radar for more than two years, Williams and Associates, an architectural firm in Spearfish, submitted two different designs and several public meetings were held to garner public input.

In 2011, the city of Spearfish utilized the findings of the Convention Center Taskforce, a committee formed to determine if the expansion would be beneficial to the community as a whole, to determine that the proposed expansion has merit and that the process should continue.

From there, Hunden Strategic Partners were hired and in May 2012 representatives of the firm presented the details of the comprehensive study that consisted of multiple components and projections as to whether there will be a solid return on investment.

After this BID was approved, its boundaries were established and the council determined that taxes generated would be in addition to the revenue created by an existing BID that paid off the convention center in 2010. Today, the $2 general occupancy tax levied upon accommodations for transient guests generates $180,000 and is allocated to Visit Spearfish for marketing.

Neeb explained that the new BID would need to generate an additional $360,000 to fund the expansion, so if all the potential businesses agree to be apart of the BID, their annual assessments could range between $5,000 and $6,000 per year.

If the expansion comes to fruition, the two districts would work together to determine how these funds would support each mission. Neeb said all of the leisure and tourism stakeholders receive benefits from Visit Spearfish’s marketing and attraction efforts and that an expansion of the convention center will generate more room nights sold.

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Posted in 2013, Convention Center, Convention Hotel, South Dakota, Spearfish | Comments Off

BID board forms to assess convention center expansion

Monday, January 28th, 2013

- via Black Hills Pioneer

By Heather Murschel

SPEARFISH — When the city of Spearfish proposed the option to create a Business Improvement District (BID) to generate revenue for the proposed expansion of the Spearfish Convention Center, officials received an overwhelming amount of feedback from various interested parties who wanted to serve on the board.

After careful consideration Mayor Jerry Krambeck appointed seven members who have a vested interest in being a part of this process to a BID board. Tuesday, the Spearfish City Council approved a resolution to form the board in order to determine the feasibility of the expansion and set a fair and equitable rate the potential businesses in the district would pay as an assessment, so revenue can be generated to fund the estimated $5.3 million project.

“This is a situation that provides the possibility for some very positive things to occur in Spearfish,” Krambeck said. “We have quite the array of folks on this board and we’re looking forward to seeing where this goes.”

Those members include Scott Stampe, Stephanie Adams, Jim Hess, Greg Krier, Clair Donovan, Barry Bibler and Don Bruner. They couuld serve on the board for up to six months, and by that time they will need to have submitted a report to city officials regarding the estimated cost of the expansion and the proposed method of assessment to allow for the issuance of revenue bonds to pay for the construction.

The next step for board members will be to organize a meeting to discuss economic development, trends in sales tax and some other pertinent information. Once the board has met and culled through all the information and data provided, they are expected to make a decision by March.

This new BID consists of 82 tourism and leisure based businesses in the area and is the second BID the city has formed in relation to the convention center. When the facility was constructed 15 years ago, a BID made up of nine Spearfish hotels that have 36 rooms or more and Spearfish Canyon Lodge as a voluntary member. Created by city ordinance, the BID created enough revenue through a $2 general occupancy tax levied upon accommodations for transient guests, to make the annual $90,000 bond payment. The convention center was paid off in 2010, and the $180,000 the initial BID creates each year is allocated to Visit Spearfish for the purpose of marketing.

 

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BID to include 82 potential businesses

Thursday, December 27th, 2012

via – Black Hills Pioneer

By Heather Murschel Black Hills Pioneer

SPEARFISH — In order to fund the proposed expansion of the Spearfish Holiday Inn and Convention Center, the city will need to incorporate its third Business Improvement District (BID).

On Monday, members of the Spearfish City Council approved a resolution to establish the boundaries for a new BID in order to identify 82 tourism and leisure orientated businesses that would pay an additional assessment. Letters will be mailed to those respective businesses to inform them of the BID and allow the business owners or managers to decide if they would like to be included. In order to review the information and look into financial feasibility of the expansion, in the next month a seven-member board of directors will be appointed to determine a fair and equitable rate the potential businesses in the district would be required to pay each year. The members of this board will be appointed by Mayor Jerry Krambeck, and receive final approval from the council prior to taking on the new position.

City Administrator Joe Neeb said that if the board looks into this further and together they determine that the expansion isn’t feasible, the proposed BID would dissolve.

“We’ve done everything that we can do as a city, and now we have turned it over to the individuals who would be responsible for generating the revenue,” Neeb said. “If they decide the expansion isn’t feasible then the BID would dissolve. If we don’t have a project, we don’t need the funding.”

He added that he expects the board to submit a recommendation either way by April 2013.

The 82 businesses were identified because they rely on the city’s marketing and advertising campaigns and benefit from tourism and travel.

Built 15 years ago for $3 million, the Spearfish Convention Center is owned by the city of Spearfish and leased to the Holiday Inn. In order to pay for the initial construction, the city created a BID made up of nine Spearfish hotels of 36 rooms or more, plus Spearfish Canyon Lodge, a voluntary member. Created by city ordinance, the BID generated enough revenue through a $2 general occupancy tax levied upon accommodations for guests, to make the annual $90,000 bond payment. The convention center was paid off in 2010, and now the $180,000 the BID creates each year is allocated to Visit Spearfish for the purpose of marketing.

The new BID would need to generate an additional $360,000 to fund the expansion, so if all the potential businesses agree to be apart of the district, their annual assessments could range between $5,000 and $6,000 per year.

The two BID’s would work together to determine how these funds would support each mission. Neeb said all of the leisure and tourism stakeholders receive benefits from Visit Spearfish’s marketing and attraction efforts and that an expansion of the convention center will generate more room nights sold.

City officials have been working towards this moment for nearly two years.

In 2011, the city of Spearfish utilized the findings of the Convention Center Taskforce, a committee formed to determine if the expansion would be beneficial to the community as a whole, to determine that the proposed expansion has merit and that the process should continue.

In February, the city of Spearfish funded a feasibility study to determine whether an expansion of the Spearfish Convention Center is financially viable. They hired Hunden Strategic Partners for an estimated $25,000 to gather the necessary information.

In May, Robin S. Hunden, president of Hunden Strategic Partners, presented the details of the comprehensive study that consisted of multiple components and projections as to whether there will be a solid return on investment. The study reviewed the area’s economic status, studied the area’s competition, surveyed trade organizations, government agencies and other associations across South Dakota in regard to what they look for in a convention center, and reviewed the potential economic benefits and expansion would have on the community as a whole.

Because Spearfish is known as a place where people can come, relax and enjoy the outdoors is an attractive asset when marketing the convention center.

“This is a huge positive for you because it will help draw in more conventions … this is a great place to visit and that will better when marketing your community,” Hunden said. “And the more people you can draw to Spearfish the better.”

He added that the strong university presence, and a bustling downtown area are also assets.

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Posted in 2012, Convention Center, Hunden Quoted, Rob Hunden, South Dakota, Spearfish | Comments Off

Deficit shrinks at Durham convention center

Wednesday, November 28th, 2012

BY JIM WISE - JWISE@NEWSOBSERVER.COM

via The News and Observer

After the Durham Convention Center’s first year under new management, Durham taxpayers are more than $700,000 better off.

For fiscal year 2011-12, the center’s operating deficit was $297,223, according to its annual report. Under the previous management company, the 2010-11 deficit was about $1 million, after a 2009-10 deficit of almost $1.4 million.

“We’re very pleased,” said Patrick Byker, chairman of the center’s board, who reported last week to county commissioners and City Council members.

In early 2011, the city and county hired Global Spectrum, a Philadelphia subsidiary of Comcast Inc., to run the jointly-owned center. Shaner Hotel Group had run the convention center for 15 years, but a consultant’s review of the center’s finances recommended that the city and county consider other operators.

Public-owned convention centers typically operate at a deficit, but the consultant concluded that Durham’s was inordinately high. The center’s budget anticipated a deficit of almost $637,000 in 2011-12. Due to renovations, the convention center operated for only 10 months of the fiscal year; for a full 2012-13 year, the budgeted deficit is $572,000.

According to the annual report, Global Spectrum’s use of staff and energy efficiency, and renegotiated supplier contracts, accounted for significant savings. Utility costs were down 41 percent and labor costs for food and beverage service were down 43 percent. Salaries were cut 35 percent.

At the same time, the center benefitted from a $6.9-million renovation that included new heating and air conditioning, a new sound system and lighting and new floor and wall coverings.

“We have a top-quality facility that can go toe-to-toe with any other convention center in the Southeast, I think, in terms of quality,” Byker said.

Officials receiving the report did mention areas that need improving, though, including an outdoor fountain that has required significant maintenance and repair work, and the need for more staff training.

 

 

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Posted in 2012, Convention Center, Durham, North Carolina | Comments Off

Convention center expansion ‘makes sense’

Friday, October 26th, 2012

Posted: Saturday, October 13, 2012 6:00 am

By Heather Murschel Black Hills Pioneer

- via Black Hills Pioneer

SPEARFISH — Spearfish needs to be more aggressive when it comes to attracting larger conventions — but officials say space is an issue. That idea spurred a study to determine whether an expansion of the Spearfish Convention Center is a feasible option for a community this size, and the final results were reviewed at a stakeholders meeting Tuesday.

“Based upon the data, it makes sense to move forward because it would make us more competitive, which we believe is a good position to be in,” said Spearfish City Administrator Joe Neeb.

According to an analysis by Hunden Strategic Partners, the firm hired to conduct the feasibility study, additional space is needed to make Spearfish a viable option for larger conventions. The proposal includes additional exhibit space, additional ballroom space and additional breakout space. The $5.3 million proposed expansion would, in theory, bring in larger groups, which would benefit tourism-related entities in Spearfish and the city of Spearfish through the generation of sales tax. Once complete, Spearfish could begin marketing itself to larger groups.

Of the 87 stakeholders who were invited to the meeting, approximately 25 showed for the presentation to hear details on the overall economic impact an expansion could have. Rob Hunden with Hunden Strategic Partners revealed results that attendance at the convention center dropped from 41,956 in 2010 to 27,501 in 2011 and the number of events dropped from 343 in 2010 to 283 in 2011. He said that potential business was lost, due to a lack of space.

The current convention center offers 14,866 square feet of non-public space and the proposed expansion would increase that to 27,666 square feet.

According to the current trends, meeting and event facilities need to have the complete package to be attractive to event planners. Hunden said they want facilities with exhibit, ballroom and meeting rooms that offer catering services. They also want to have dining areas and entertainment venues to be within walking distance.

To move forward, a decision whether to proceed will come before the Spearfish City Council in November. From there, the council will establish the boundaries for a Business Improvement District (BID) to generate revenue to fund the project costs. The district will be open to the 87 stakeholders, which consist of restaurant, bar, hotel and gas station owners who are affected by tourism travel.

Once the boundaries are established, the council will seek interest on serving on the BID Board of Directors, which should occur in December. The board’s responsibility will be to determine whether Spearfish should move forward with the project or not. If they decide to move forward, the board will then need to put together a developmental plan and establish a fair and equitable method for revenue.

Neeb said that if all 87 stakeholders are included in the BID, the annual dues would be approximately $5,000 per year.

He also said the city is set up to allocate $1 million for the initial construction costs, which is the estimated amount the city would incur in tax revenue from the expansion over the 20 year period of the loan.

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Consultant paints expensive picture of Expo Center future

Thursday, September 20th, 2012

Public investment of up to $55 million needed to maximize Expo Center.

Amos Bridges News-Leader

via – Springfield News-Leader

“Go big or go home” was the advice given Thursday to members of the task force trying to determine how to snare more business for Springfield’s Expo Center.

“You have to put a complete package together,” consultant Rob Hunden told the Convention Competitive Assessment Task Force during a conference call Thursday. “Don’t fool yourself into thinking you have the cards to play, ’cause you don’t.”

For Springfield, a competitive hand would require a new, full-service hotel on the vacant lot east of the Expo Center, upgrades at the center and University Plaza Hotel across the street, and development of additional restaurants and retail stores in the immediate area.

“To be successful you really need all of them,” Hunden said, whose firm was hired by the city, Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau and John Q. Hammons Hotels.

All the improvements would require taxpayer money.

“A bank would not fund that (new) hotel, regardless” of the business it receives from the adjacent Expo Center, said Hunden, who has estimated the total public investment needed at $24 to $55 million. “The private sector’s not going to do it.”

The question, Hunden said, is whether Springfield wants to make the investment.

Under current agreements, the public bears no financial risk associated with the Expo Center, Hunden said. “It’s not really doing much but it’s not costing (taxpayers) anything, either.”

Investing in a competitive convention complex could pay dividends in the form of additional hotel stays, restaurant business and tax revenue, he said, “but there are pitfalls.”

“Most communities your size or larger have a convention center, which makes the market difficult,” he said. “It’s not as big a buck as it used to be, but it’s still very sizeable.”

Hunden said an additional economic impact analysis is needed to determine how much extra tax revenue Springfield could expect to earn for each dollar spent on various upgrades.

Task force members plan to meet within the next few weeks to discuss their next move. Most members appeared to want the additional analysis in hand before Hunden makes a formal presentation to City Council, the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau and John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts.

Officials skeptical

Burris thanked Hunden on Thursday for an “honest assessment, warts and all.” But he and other task force members didn’t take everything the consultant had to say at face value.

Joe Morrissey, senior VP of operations at Hammons, and Missy Handyside, general manager at Ramada Oasis Hotel & Convention Center, both were skeptical that recommended upgrades at University Plaza would allow the hotel to charge up to $30 more a night.

While several committee members agreed greater connectivity between the the Expo Center area and downtown is needed, Rusty Worley, executive director of the Urban Districts Alliance, questioned whether the area could absorb a half-dozen additional restaurants.

Hunden thinks it will.

“Downtown is just far enough away it’s not visually connected,” he said. Although restaurants four or five blocks away from the Expo Center can help, event organizers will go elsewhere if options aren’t available within a few hundred feet. “The minimum expectation has increased over time.”

Handyside and other task force members suggested Springfield might build on an existing strength and try to focus on snagging sports tournaments, rather than general business conventions. Hunden said the idea had merit, although the sports and recreation niche has become increasingly competitive, as well.

Burris asked whether Springfield might “leapfrog” the competition by putting off any major improvements until the competing facilities going in now begin to show their age.

“The longer you wait, I think the more you’ll have to build to be competitive,” Hunden said.

Additional Facts

Consultant complimentary, too

Still in draft form, consultant Rob Hunden’s assessment of Springfield’s convention facilities doesn’t sugarcoat the city’s position. Critical of facilities at the Expo Center and University Plaza, the report says Springfield also suffers from a reputation as overly traditional and out-of-touch.

“Your description of us as ‘dowdy’ is catching on,” City Manager Greg Burris joked Thursday, prompting Hunden to note that “perception is different than reality.” “There’s not one thing that defines Springfield,” the consultant said, listing the city’s status as a growing regional center, its universities and attractive downtown as valuable strengths.

“What you have (downtown) is authentic, it’s not manufactured,” he said.

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Posted in 2011, Competitive Assessment, Convention Center, Convention Hotel, Exposition Center, Hunden Quoted, Missouri, Rob Hunden, Springfield | Comments Off

Springfield fights negative perceptions

Thursday, September 20th, 2012

Written by

Amos Bridges

11:00 PM, May. 26, 2011

via – Springfield News-Leader

For anyone writing a personal ad or online dating profile, the word “dowdy” is an adjective best avoided.

For a city trying to drum up tourism and convention business, it’s no better.

But the word has been applied to Springfield in a consultant’s evaluation of the city Expo Center, along with “overly traditional … perhaps even out-of- date/out-of-touch.”

The report, by Chicago-based Strategic Partners, identifies a number of facility and infrastructure upgrades needed if Springfield wants to effectively compete with the likes of St. Louis, Branson and cities even farther afield.

The city has an image problem, as well, the report says.

Despite the presence of local universities and the downtown area, the report says, Springfield “has a reputation in the state for being a bit old-fashioned, part of the buckle of the Bible Belt and perhaps not ‘fresh’ and ‘new’ …”

“To a certain degree I don’t argue with that analysis,” said City Manager Greg Burris, noting — as the report does — that outsiders may not be giving Springfield the credit it deserves.

“We’re already a fun place — it’s more us not telling our story very well,” Burris said. “We have conservative values but we’re also not afraid to have fun.”

“They’re not mutually exclusive,” added Jim Anderson, president of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. “I think you can be conservative, as we are, and be progressive, as we are.”

Still, Anderson acknowledged the report — commissioned in part to determine whether a new hotel next to the Expo Center is warranted — isn’t the first to raise the issue.

Previous studies commissioned by the chamber and others have noted the city suffers from negative perceptions.

Fair or not, “the image and the brand of our community remains a challenge,” Anderson said.

The good news is that Springfield has many assets to market, said Rusty Worley, head of the Urban District Alliance.

“I was encouraged by the (consultant’s) comments on the investments made downtown, the restaurants and nightlife we have here and the strong ties with our colleges and universities,” said Worley. “I think those are all strengths for us to build on.”

Discussion of the Expo Center’s shortcomings and other facility needs identified in the report is yet to come. Burris declined to comment ahead of a June 2 meeting, other than to say it’s yet to be determined whether the city ought to spend the money necessary “to play in this convention and expo market.”

“Those are the kinds of conversations we’ll have in the committee meeting when we have a chance to talk to (consultant Rob Hunden),” said Burris, who sits on the task force evaluating the report. “It needs to be a group discussion rather than discussed through the media before the meeting occurs.”

Call for Renovation

In addition to facility upgrades at the Springfield Expo Center, the consultant’s report highlights the need for renovation at the University Plaza Hotel and possible changes to the city’s Expo Center management contract with John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts. Justin Harris and Joe Morrissey, two Hammons Hotels representatives on the committee evaluating the report, said Thursday they had not had a chance to review the document in detail. “We’ll be prepared to have some remarks or comments on it” at the June 2 meeting, said Harris, Hammons Hotels’ general counsel. “We’re just not up to speed on it yet.”

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Report: Expo needs more than hotel

Thursday, September 20th, 2012

Written by

Amos Bridges

11:00 PM, May. 25, 2011

via – Springfield News-Leader

An attached, full-service hotel could make the Springfield Expo Center more competitive, but it won’t do the job alone, a consultant’s report said.

Upgrades at the center and the University Plaza Hotel across the street, new restaurants and retail stores are needed as well, if Springfield hopes to compete effectively with Branson and other cities for convention business.

Those improvements altogether could require more than $53 million in private investment, as well as public subsidies and incentives estimated at $24 million to $55 million, according to the report from Chicago consulting firm Hunden Strategic Partners.

Alternatively, the report said connecting the Expo Center to University Plaza while trying to land a smaller, limited-service hotel would lead to some improvement at the cost of a few million dollars, but the benefit would belong mostly to University Plaza, owned by John Q. Hammons Hotels and Resorts.

“It would not benefit the community other than to help save a hotel that may otherwise continue to be a drag on the market,” the report says.

The 185-page report — distributed in draft form to members of a task force that includes city, Convention and Visitors Bureau and Hammons representatives — doesn’t appear to pull punches.

In addition to describing the University Plaza as over-priced and in need of significant renovation, the report says Springfield as a whole suffers from a reputation “as overly traditional, dowdy, perhaps even out-of-date/out-of-touch.”

Developing a more “fun” image that highlights the vigor of the downtown area and involvement of local universities could help attract convention business, the report says. Otherwise, the city could “embrace this existing reputation and market heavily to the family/religious market (and suffer from low price points) …”

Other needs and suggested remedies include:

» The Expo Center, built for $16 million in 2003, needs a kitchen, ballroom and more meeting rooms. The report suggests demolishing the old Sears & Roebuck portion of the building to make room, at a cost of $10 million to $17 million.

» The city’s management contract with Hammons for operation of the center should be renegotiated, the report says. The current contract makes Hammons responsible for any losses, which discourages the company from booking smaller or less-profitable events that still might benefit other businesses.

» About a dozen additional restaurants and retail stores are needed along St. Louis Street to connect the Expo Center area with downtown, the report says, suggesting the city foster private development with subsidies or other public investments, such as a parking garage.

The truth hurts

The promise of such a blunt assessment was one reason HSP was hired, City Manager Greg Burris and CVB President Tracy Kimberlin said.

“That’s what this is all about, to get an outside, expert opinion about our current s ituation and where we go,” said Kimberlin, who provided a copy of the draft report in response to the News-Leader’s request. “I think there are probably things in there that will make everybody squirm a bit, but we need to hear that.”

Kimberlin said members of the city, CVB and Hammons task force are scheduled to meet and discuss the draft June 2.

“We will have Rob Hunden, the consultant who did the report, on the phone,” Kimberlin said. “The committee will be able to ask him questions, suggest any changes they may have and just kind of gather information that may not be contained in the report that they have questions on.”

Hunden then will prepare a final version of the report, which he will present in person to the City Council and other interested parties at a yet-unscheduled time, Kimberlin said, noting the task force will be providing input to the council as well.

The back story

Hunden Strategic Partners, of Chicago, was hired in December to evaluate the competitiveness of Springfield’s convention facilities and recommend the best use for an empty lot east of the Expo Center on St. Louis Street.

The Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, the City Council and John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts agreed to split the $39,000 cost of the report. City Manager Greg Burris suggested the competitive assessment almost a year ago as the city weighed whether to buy back the 1.7-acre tract east of the Expo Center from Hammons for $1.

Hammons bought the site from the city in 2008 with the promise that he would build an Embassy Suites hotel connected to the center. He failed to do by an April 2010 deadline, despite several extensions from the city, pending a decision by council on a buyback.

Posted in 2011, Competitive Assessment, Convention Center, Convention Hotel, Exposition Center, Hunden Quoted, Missouri, Springfield | Comments Off

City urged not to sell land near Expo Center yet

Thursday, September 20th, 2012

via – Springfield News-Leader

City Council should hold on to the vacant lot next the Springfield Expo Center until a connecting hotel can be built there, a committee recommended Thursday.

When that might happen — and with what money — remained unresolved after a conference call with convention center consultant Rob Hunden.

“Itʼs a quandary. How do you move forward with that much public investment required and not enough public cash flow?” City Manager Greg Burris asked.

Hunden, hired to find ways to make Springfield more competitive in the convention industry, estimates that a $90 million investment in the Expo Center and surrounding facilities is needed. About $40 million of that total would come from the city or other public entities.

In return, Hunden expects the improvements to generate about 750 new jobs and more than $1 billion in new spending over 25 years.

That total includes money visitors would spend at the Expo Center, local hotels and restaurants, plus money employees at those businesses would turn around and spend themselves.

Hunden estimates the extra economic activity will generate an estimated $43 million in additional local taxes during the same period. But Mary Lilly Smith, the cityʼs economic development director, noted Thursday that only about $17 million would be coming to the city, with the rest going to Greene County or other taxing districts.

“I think we have some real challenges in trying to do (initial expansion of the Expo Center) because thatʼs where the public money is,” Smith said.

Finding a developer and financing construction of an adjoining hotel could be difficult right now, as well, said Joe Morrissey, senior vice president of operations at John Q. Hammons Hotels and Resorts.

Hammons Hotelʼs failure to do just that led to the creation of the committee in 2010 and City Councilʼs subsequent decision to buy back the vacant lot.

Morrissey said financing remains difficult. “I donʼt know if it would work.”

Rusty Worley, executive director of Urban Districts Alliance, suggested the city develop a detailed strategic plan for the area around the Expo Center and west to downtown before putting the property up for bid.

“I donʼt think the marketʼs ready …,” he said. “If we buy a little more time, hopefully the market will catch up.”

Several committee members affiliated with the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau cautioned against waiting too long, however.

“I donʼt want to see us lose this momentum,” said Melissa Dallas, head of the hospitality and restaurant management department at Missouri State University.

Others suggested the project might be scaled back or altered to make it more affordable.

Hunden said the estimated cost is based on a “worst-case” scenario in which the Expo Center and adjoining hotel are owned or managed by different companies.

“If there was one owner over the entire complex it appears there would be some savings,” said Tracy Kimberlin, president of the visitors bureau.

Hunden agreed, suggesting the public investment might be reduced by about half if that were the case and other improvements were scaled back.

Several committee members said the number of new restaurants and retail stores Hunden has suggested — and a related public parking facility — may be unnecessary.

“A lot of that could happen on its own,” Kimberlin said.

Upgrading the Expo

Consultant Rob Hunden says about $90 million needs to be spent to make Springfieldʼs Expo Center competitive, with about $40 million of that coming from taxpayers. Hereʼs whatʼs included:

Component I

Expo Center expansion and renovation — $17.5 million (all public funding) Connecting, 240-room hotel on vacant lot — $37.8 million ($9.8 million public subsidy)

Total: $55.3 million ($27.3 million in public funding)

Component II

Renovation and expansion of University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center — $21.8 million ($7.2 million public subsidy) Development of 60,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space in UP parking lot — $8.9 million ($2.4 million public subsidy)

New parking deck — $3.6 million (all public funding) Total: $34.3 million ($13.2 million in public funding)

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Posted in 2012, Competitive Assessment, Convention Center, Convention Hotel, Exposition Center, Hunden Quoted, Missouri, Springfield | Comments Off

A possible new vision for the Springfield Expo Center

Thursday, September 20th, 2012

A task force is looking at the economic impact changing the Expo Center into a convention center would have for the city of Springfield

Reporter: Lauren Matter

lmatter@kspr.com

6:07 PM CST, February 23, 2012

via – kspr.com

Springfield’s Expo Center could change into a convention center complete with a new hotel, bigger ballroom and full service kitchen.

In 2011, a study examined what it would take to have a successful complex and if it would have an economic impact on Springfield. A task force is now seeing if they should move forward with those ideas stated in the report or look in another direction. It’s still very early in these plans, but the community is seeing the potentials.

Ryan MacDonald says his restaurant has weathered the storm.

“The last one, two years have been kind of hectic,” MacDonald says. “We’ve had a lot of street improvements downtown, had square improvements downtown.”

The owner of Trolley’s and Flying Tomato in Downtown Springfield says, he knew there would be challenges opening up on Park Central Square, but stuck with it.

“We kept our business downtown, because we see the potential growth in the future,” MacDonald states.

Potential that could be coming from changes right up the street at the Expo Center.

“What we wanted to try to determine is if we built this thing would it have a positive return,” says Convention and Visitor’s Bureau President Tracy Kimberlin.

Kimberlin says the study is a good snapshot of the potentials this project has for Springfield.

“Convention delegates will spend roughly $150 per person per day when they’re here in the community,” Kimberlin recalls.

Not only that, but Kimberlin says it will draw conventions away from cities like St. Louis, Kansas City or even Branson.

“We’re missing a lot of stuff that other communities have. One of the biggest obstacles we face in dealing with meeting planners is the fact that the facilities right now aren’t connected,” Kimberlin says.

There’s still time until those connections happen, but Springfield residents we spoke to say they’re excited about the potential this could bring.

“Springfield always seems slighted or passed by because we didn’t have a convention center here,” says one resident.

But some worry about the cost.

“I guess we would have to see long term what it would do versus what it’s going to take out of our pocketbooks,” another resident says.

“All the businesses in downtown are very pro-convention center,” says MacDonald.

MacDonald says he sees nothing but good things that could come from this, not only his restaurant, but the city he calls home.

“This is kind of the final piece of the puzzle,” he says.

The price tag in the study was $90 million, half of which would need to come from public funding.

Kimberlin says a developer could come in with other ideas and the task force could look at those.

Either way, Kimberlin says tax abatement would be part of the finance picture and it wouldn’t surprise him if some sort of tax increase took place.

On Thursday, the task force made a motion for Springfield City Council to hold onto the lot next to the Expo Center for hotel development in the future.

Council will look over the study, then both will look at how to proceed at a later date.

Copyright © 2012, KSPR-TV

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Posted in 2012, Convention Center, Convention Hotel, Exposition Center, Missouri, Springfield | Comments Off

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