Meeting News - August 11, 2008 - (Page 22)

Convention Centers Until 2006, Louisiana’s thirdlargest city’s main claims to fame were sweet (Southern Maid Donuts) and musical (the Municipal Auditorium’s Louisiana Hayride, a national radio program spotlighting, among others, Hank Williams and a young, pompadoured Elvis Presley). But the opening of the Shreveport Convention Center two years ago gave ting up offices and holding meetings and training sessions,” said Deborah Foshee, director of sales and marketing for the Shreveport Convention Center. Indeed, drilling permits continue to rise in the area, spurred on by shale and cotton valley gas deposits, while Louisiana set a new state record in its 2006-2007 fiscal year for oil and gas royalties ($522.5 million). “In Shreveport Center is in the red, but it is finding black gold in oil groups. the past six months, we’ve started to see a lot more [group] business, and we’ve been getting more creative in our marketing efforts, specifically targeting the [oil] industry,” said Foshee. It hasn’t hurt, either, that all those energyindustry attendees need a place to hang their hard hats. “The Hilton Shreveport has been open for a year now, and that’s been very beneficial for us,” said Foshee, of the 313-room property Bossier City residents something new to talk about. The convention center managed to increase both its bookings and operating loss simultaneously through 2007, but that may be changing due to—of all things— out-of-control oil prices. “The economy has been really good for the Shreveport area, with a lot of oil and gas companies set- Edited by Terri Hardin terri.hardin@nielsen.com Shreveport Looks to Power Up with Oil and Energy Groups that adjoins the 350,000-sf center. “We’re definitely up in terms of bookings, and 2009 is shaping up to be very positive. In fact, we’re having trouble squeezing people in—everybody wants the same [dates]—but we’re doing a pretty good job of juggling that.” That said, the bigger challenge, no doubt, remains the balancing act of offering attractive rates while turning a profit—or at least keeping the red ink to a minimum. The latter has proven to be a major sore point over the past year between city officials and SMG, the facility’s management company, after the center finished 2007 with a $2.2-million loss—$500,000 worse than expected. “I think things are going very well,” said Foshee, referring to both the center’s current rates and the city’s bruised feelings. “You can’t just build something like in Field of Dreams and expect that they’ll come,” she said. “You have to build relationships, and that can take three years or more. We’re in our third year, and it’s been a pivotal one, and 2009 should be phenomenal.” —Marc Boisclair Ottawa Bids Farewell to Old Center Aug. 27 marks the last convention to be held in the existing 84,000-sf Ottawa Congress Centre. Demolition of the building in the Canadian capital begins in September to make way for a 200,000-sf venue that will be able to hold concurrent shows and meetings for national and international groups, both of which had gone elsewhere due to insufficient space. Expected to debut in April 2011, the new center will be a four-level 22 MeetingNews August 11, 2008 construction. To be connected to the 495-room Westin Ottawa and the Rideau Centre mall, it will have dedicated levels for the exhibit halls and meeting rooms, as well as a 21,000-sf ballroom. It intends to be LEED-certified, built with lowVOC and recycled construction materials and equipped with water-reuse, advanced waste management, and green housekeeping and maintenance systems. It has been estimated that the current center, which opened in 1983, has cost Ottawa at least several hundred million dollars in lost revenue over the past five years. After years of failed plans for a new site, it was decided that the best course of action was to scrap the existing building and rebuild on the current footprint because it is flanked by major roads leading into downtown Ottawa and therefore close to the city’s stock of 6,000 hotel rooms. The Canadian and Ontario governments have pledged $50 mil- lion each in the new building’s funding, and the city is pumping $40 million into the project. “The momentum of this project, thanks to the support of the governments and the city, will see that a worldclass convention center will happen—finally,” said Patrick Kelly, the center’s president. The center has pledged to relocate both displaced staff and scheduled groups for the two and a half years during which the site will be out of commission. r —William Ng www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - August 11, 2008

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