Special Series: "When Pigs Fly" This is a collection of articles on the facts, problems and issues other communities are having with their current or planned Conference/Convention Centers.

DOWNTOWN: Conventional Wisdom

Wednesday, January 27, 1999 - Jacksonville.com

There are three things occurring in Jacksonville that provide reason for the city to re-examine its role in the convention business.  One is that the city's convention center continues to lose money.  Another is that the new Adam's Mark Hotel downtown will have a large convention facility.  The third is that the home of the current convention center, the former train station, is being eyed as a revamped transportation center. The question is whether the two functions on one site would complement or conflict.

Fortunately, this is part of the work that a new task force of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission will be doing as it focuses on the city's niche in tourism.  When the city sold bonds in 1986 to buy and renovate the 1919 train station, it was expected that it might lose money, like many public facilities.

Consultants said that even after operations ''stabilized'' the facility would lose $355,000 to $545,000 a year. In 1998, the facility had revenue of $1.5 million and expenses of nearly $2 million. Only eight conventions were held in the center.   There is a feeling among some elected officials that a large exhibit hall is needed, and the center fills that bill.

Many cities operate convention centers at a loss, believing the money spent by convention visitors in the city offsets the loss.

Palm Beach County just approved a new convention center. Broward County is designing an expansion of its center, and Miami Beach finally got a major hotel built within walking distance of its center. They will split the business for large, medium and small conventions.  But that is South Florida. Local government should do what works best for the First Coast.

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