Jacksonville convention centers having trouble attracting visitors

[Keith-N-Jax]

Yea, but they do need to get off of it right. Are there any plans? Have any city leaders mention this? Wouldnt it make more sense just to convert the PO into a transportation center and build a new CC next to the Hyatt if the money was there.

[tufsu1]

yes...and if the money was there, they would do it...even the Mayor now thinks there should be a convention center on the river....they just can't justify the cost right now (kind of hard when people keep bitchin' about the $350 million courthouse)....maybe after the new courthouse opens and those old buildings are vacant.

[Bostech]

Well,we can do what we did for Superbowl.Get several cruise ships,park it next to Hyatt and turn in it into convention center.
You are on water,next to hotel and great view of downtown.

[mtraininjax]

It would cost less money to put a dome on JMS (football stadium) and hold the """conventions""" there than it would to build a new center.

Stephen - I agree with you, fix downtown first!

[thelakelander]

Dealing with the convention center issue is just as much a part of fixing downtown as anything else is.  Several things don't work in our DT.  The convention center is one of them.

[mtraininjax]

Lake - CC is dead, no money, John at Visit Jax will tell you the same. The Commission to study a new CC realizes there is NO money, NONE for a new center. Why even hope with a cotton candy attitude that there will be money in 2010 or 2011 or even 2012 for a CC? No money = No need for discussion, but we can dream all we want, perhaps we can add racing stripes to the Prime for now.....

Fix the issues of businesses downtown, in our OWN downtown, get the business community thriving, putting taxes into the coffers for future downtown projects like a CC. Forget the CC for now, no money, period, not even from Obama. Pray for money for a choo-choo system.

[Johnny]

Actually, racing stripes on the Prime would be pretty fantastic!

[Johnny]

yes...and if the money was there, they would do it...even the Mayor now thinks there should be a convention center on the river....they just can't justify the cost right now (kind of hard when people keep bitchin' about the $350 million courthouse)....maybe after the new courthouse opens and those old buildings are vacant.

How much would it cost to dig out the river to pass by the current CC? problem solved

[mtraininjax]

The City could get the CC built if they had a brain and used it and worked with HYATT to turn the Courthouse area into a convention center, give Hyatt a sweatheart of a deal, free power, utilities for X years, and in return get them to build the convention center using real architects instead of the Mickey Mouse group we have in downtown right now. Get Hyatt to build it, manage it, and do exactly what we do with the Stadium and Jags, charge them the lease on the space, share in revenues, and its a win-win.

Of course, this takes courage at 117 W Duval Street.....

[thelakelander]

Lake - CC is dead, no money, John at Visit Jax will tell you the same. The Commission to study a new CC realizes there is NO money, NONE for a new center. Why even hope with a cotton candy attitude that there will be money in 2010 or 2011 or even 2012 for a CC? No money = No need for discussion, but we can dream all we want, perhaps we can add racing stripes to the Prime for now.....

I never said spend money you don't have.  Instead of ignoring the problem, solidify a plan to relocate it in the future.  Man up and make a decision on the future and plan accordingly. This way you don't waste +$100 million on a poorly designed transportation center.

Fix the issues of businesses downtown, in our OWN downtown, get the business community thriving, putting taxes into the coffers for future downtown projects like a CC. Forget the CC for now, no money, period, not even from Obama. Pray for money for a choo-choo system.

If COJ and JTA planned for rail, instead of doing what you suggest with the CC center, they most likely would have been in line for stimulus dollars to help pay for implementation.  Because no plan was developed, when a funding opportunity came along, we were caught with our pants around our ankles.  Money in hand to implement or not, Jax can and should make sound decisions about what it wants to be in the future.  Instead we've accepted sticking our heads in the sand as a viable solution.

[thelakelander]

The City could get the CC built if they had a brain and used it and worked with HYATT to turn the Courthouse area into a convention center, give Hyatt a sweatheart of a deal, free power, utilities for X years, and in return get them to build the convention center using real architects instead of the Mickey Mouse group we have in downtown right now. Get Hyatt to build it, manage it, and do exactly what we do with the Stadium and Jags, charge them the lease on the space, share in revenues, and its a win-win.

Of course, this takes courage at 117 W Duval Street.....

I agree.  A public private financing solution involving the Hyatt and other private entities should be considered.

[mtraininjax]

The only way it gets built is with a public/private solution or 75% private/25% public. There has to be an incentive for Private equity to build it and MAKE a profit.

By the way, we had a guest stay in the Hyatt, said it was looking a bit rundown. Anyone else seen this as well? Its our flagship downtown hotel, and the city should have Visit Jax inspect the hotels to make sure they maintain their stature downtown. No need for black eyes in the media for things that can be corrected daily/weekly.