Do we need a convention center?

[thelakelander]

This is the money that is being used to fund the new scoreboards at EverBank Field.  During the Peyton administration, it was considered as an option for funding a new convention center/redoing the Prime Osborn.

Funding

WCD receives no property tax money or Federal, State or local subsidy. Its operations are funded by operating revenues. Special sales taxes on hotel rooms, on prepared food and drinks sold in restaurants and taverns, and on car rentals repay a $185 million bond issue that funded the Midwest Express Center project, and provide funding to Visit Milwaukee. None of these tax revenues are used to fund WCD operations.

[tufsu1]

As Lake has noted the Milwaukee center's contiguous exhibit space is just shy of 200,000 square feet.  That seems to be the magic number for needed medium-sized convention centers, and should be considered a requirement for any new (or renovated) center in Jax.  The current Prime Osborn's exhibit hall is 78,500 square feet.

[thelakelander]

^The Wisconsin Center District operates and manages other venues as well. Assuming they are successful (being financially self sustainable would suggest success, IMO), the extra business could trigger a need for more employees than what may be needed in Jax locally.

The Wisconsin Center District (WCD) is a government body created under Wisconsin State Statute in 1994 to fund, build and operate the Midwest Express Center (now Wisconsin Center) in downtown Milwaukee, and continue operating the existing venues now called the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and Milwaukee Theatre. Not a unit of state, county or city government, WCD is instead a semi-autonomous municipality called a "district," meaning its leaders are appointed and it can issue bonds and collect taxes within strict limits.

[finehoe]

City leaders in the United States devote enormous public resources to the construction of large entertainment projects, including stadiums, convention centers, entertainment districts, and festival malls. Their justification is that such projects will generate economic returns by attracting tourists to the city. Although this economic expectation is tested in the literature, little attention is given to the political and social implications of building a city for visitors rather than local residents. A focus on building the city for the visitor class may strain the bonds of trust between local leaders and the citizenry and skew the civic agenda to the detriment of fundamental municipal services.

http://uar.sagepub.com/content/35/3/316.refs.html

[urbanlibertarian]

City leaders in the United States devote enormous public resources to the construction of large entertainment projects, including stadiums, convention centers, entertainment districts, and festival malls. Their justification is that such projects will generate economic returns by attracting tourists to the city. Although this economic expectation is tested in the literature, little attention is given to the political and social implications of building a city for visitors rather than local residents. A focus on building the city for the visitor class may strain the bonds of trust between local leaders and the citizenry and skew the civic agenda to the detriment of fundamental municipal services.

http://uar.sagepub.com/content/35/3/316.refs.html

+1

[thelakelander]

Now I'm pretty interested in the Milwaukee example. According to them, they're financially sustainable and self-sufficient. Milwaukee appears to have a pretty well rounded downtown that's built for everyone.....residents and visitors.

[thelakelander]

Milwaukee seems to have their act together. In recent years, they've reclaimed their waterfront, added a downtown public market, expanded their intermodal transit center and removed an elevated expressway. They also fought with the state to move forward with their streetcar project.

[taylormiller]

Milwaukee seems to have their act together.

+1

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2011-apr-elements-of-urbanism-milwaukee

[thelakelander]

The 4th photo outlines the former Pabst Brewing Company plant on the edge of downtown.  However, it captures the path of the expressway that was removed and replaced with a ground level boulevard. The removal of the Park Freeway in 2002 created 60 acres in the heart of the city for new infill development.

http://city.milwaukee.gov/Projects/ParkEastredevelopment.htm#.U7xE_vldViY

Given the fairly recent opening of the boulevard -- the redevelopment interest is proving the value of converting this area into a walkable urban space. Fortune-500 Manpower Corporation has moved its headquarters a block from the former highway and mixed-use developments are popping up along the boulevard as well as in the surrounding blocks. Between 2001 and 2006, the average assessed land values per acre in the footprint of the Park East Freeway grew by over 180% and average assessed land values in the Park East Tax Increment District grew by 45% between 2001 and 2006. This growth is much higher than the citywide increase of 25% experienced during the same time period.

http://www.cnu.org/highways/milwaukee

[finehoe]

Looks like New Orleans wants to go in a similar direction:

The convention center's governing authority says it needs a hotel and other amenities.

Under legislation signed into law last week by Gov. Bobby Jindal, the authority has been given permission to move forward with a plan to develop a 47-acre tract of vacant land it owns at the center's upriver end into a hotel and entertainment district and to make changes to the area along Convention Center Boulevard.

http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/home/9449334-172/convention-center-envisions-a-new

[thelakelander]

Is it part of the expansion district around the convention center?

Partially.



The circular building (new arena?) in the bottom right of this image is Lot 6 on the freeway redevelopment map.

[Gunnar]

Milwaukee seems to have their act together. In recent years, they've reclaimed their waterfront, added a downtown public market, expanded their intermodal transit center

Just think if Jax had a convention center that was near a DT intermodal transit center (Greyhound, Railroad station, trolleys / monorail to get around dt and to the riverfront, light rail connection to the airport and the Beaches...) - this would make it a lot more attractive imho - easy to get to and easy to get to bars, stadium, the beaches from there - a convention is that much more fun if you can have fun before and after it 

[tufsu1]

TUFSU.  What do you mean the magic number needed?

Do you see more of a correlation between the amount of space and success or the number of local people working on the project.

285 people working on a convention center seems like it would get a space pretty busy, even if by accident.

sorry for the delay in responding.  The magic # I was referring to is 200,000 square feet of exhibit space.  That is the size that folks in the industry nationally believe is needed to attract medium-sized conventions and trade shows.

By no means should Jacksonville be trying to compete with Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Atlanta, San Diego, or Orlando for the largest shows.  Nor should we be aiming for that next tier (Philadelphia, Washington DC, Houston, New Orleans).  But with a larger facility, we could (and in IMO would) be able to compete with places like Milwaukee, Tampa, Nashville, Charlotte. 

[finehoe]

But with a larger facility, we could (and in IMO would) be able to compete with places like Milwaukee, Tampa, Nashville, Charlotte.

Or, we could get out of the convention business altogether since study after study after study show the return on investment rarely makes it worthwhile.

[simms3]

I don't think Jax will be on Nashville's convention tier, ever, since I believe it is up there with San Antonio and a few other pretty large convention markets, especially with their new Music City CC, and all those new hotels, and their nightlife and attractions and destination status.

However, I'm not ready to rush to "non-compete" status by giving up on the convention business.  I don't see any cities giving up, rather, every city seems to be expanding and trying to win new business.  SF is expanding Moscone Center by 400,000 SF or something around there, but it has all those tech conventions to handle (Oracle, Salesforce, Apple, etc).

I put CC's in the tourism sector, and tourism is on the rise.  Especially with Asians.  There's a lot Jax can do better to bring in tourism, and it's not doing anything.  Building a new CC is one of the more expensive options, but it is something that the city can do.  If a place like Indianapolis or Hartford can build or expand a new center and take on more conventions and build more hotels and relatively fill them, Jax certainly can do so better.  It's warm year round!