by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Proponents of a new convention center say a recently released report provides “irrefutable evidence,” that an improved facility could be an economic difference maker for the City. But they will likely have to come up with a plan to raise hundreds of millions to convince a skeptical mayor.
According to the report, commissioned by the Convention and Visitors Bureau and conducted by the University of North Florida’s Center for Public Policy, a new convention center would bring millions of visitors, hundreds of millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs to Jacksonville. CVB president Kitty Ratcliffe said Tuesday that the results should convince elected officials to make a commitment to the convention industry.
“Very clearly this study demonstrates that an improved convention facility would serve as an economic development tool,” said Ratcliffe. “It will bring new jobs and revenue streams to the city.”
Ratcliffe said she presented the study’s findings to members of the mayor’s executive staff. She said they were supportive, enthusiastic but noncommittal. She said the administration wanted bottom-line figures: how much? and where would it come from? Answers she said the CVB is looking for right now.
The CVB will spend the next few months identifying potential funding sources for the project and lobbying the City Council about the city’s basic need for convention business. After that will be the mayor’s office.
Mayor John Peyton has never advocated a strong need for the city to feature a convention center. During the campaign he questioned whether the economic impact would be worth investing hundreds of millions.
A Downtown Development Authority study estimated the cost of renovating the Osborn Center between $200 and $400 million dollars. Since the election, Peyton has preached a cautious evaluation before plunging into a highly competitive national convention center market, one that includes Daytona Beach, Palm Beach and Raleigh, N.C., regional competitors that have all recently decided to expand their convention presence.
Ratcliffe said she understands the mayor’s deliberative approach, but said the study should prod City Hall to make a commitment to improving the City’s convention facilities. The promise of about 30,000 new annual visitors, in the first year, each spending $250 per day as projected by the study, is too great to ignore she said.
In the first 10 years following construction, the study predicted an improved Osborn Center would bring in about $400 million to area restaurants, hotels and retail. A new center could return as much as $850 million the study said. Compare that to the predicted $10 million in revenue coming from the existing facility.
Ratcliffe said she had received strong support from the business community. Council members Elaine Brown and Reggie Fullwood have supported an improved Osborn Center as the centerpiece of a revitalized LaVilla. Even if the City approaches the issue cautiously, Ratcliffe said a commitment to improve would be a satisfactory first step.
“We want to see a plan in place and we want to see the project get done,” said Ratcliffe. “That’s why the Prime has never worked. We’ve had a plan but no action. The City’s never committed to the convention business and that’s why the Prime Osborn failed as a convention center.”