Convention centers as catalysts for local economic development

Communities throughout the United States have used public funds to build, expand and renovate convention centers in hopes of stimulating economic and physical revitalization of their cities. This study examines convention centers as public investments to encourage local economic development. It considers the economic, social and spatial impacts of convention centers on American cities. It also looks at the various types of public subsidies used for convention center projects and considers the appropriateness of using public money for these facilities.; This study attempts to provide new information that can help communities better evaluate and utilize current and potential convention center investments. A central part of the study is an analysis of primary data collected from a Likert scale attitudinal survey of association executives that examines the criteria and processes that associations use when choosing sites for their gatherings that use convention centers. The motivation behind this is that an improved understanding of what it takes to develop competitive convention destinations can reduce wasteful expenditures.; The analyses show that convention centers have tremendous potential to stimulate import income, create jobs, attract private sector capital and generate additional tax revenue streams. However, the cost of these projects is high and continues to escalate as competition raises expectations for costly technologies, services and amenities. While convention center investments have paid off handsomely in many communities, trends suggest that the domestic convention market is headed for a shake out that will leave some cities saddled with decades of debt and operating losses from unproductive centers. The most vulnerable convention destinations are smaller markets that do not have direct flights from major cities. Convention centers in these cities operate under an economic reality that is very different from those of more popular convention destinations. Small markets have difficulty attracting lucrative national and international gatherings. Furthermore, those organizations whose geographic scopes are narrower might also be hard to attract because they tend to have their conventions in the same, centrally located venues year after year.