Fall 2007 E-Newsletter

A Higgs, Fletcher & Mack PARTNER PERSPECTIVE ON TOURISM AND THE CONVENTION CENTER

(In January 2007, Alexis Gutierrez was appointed to the Board of Directors of the San Diego Convention Center Corporation’s seven-member board, which is comprised of business and community leaders appointed by the Mayor and City Council. Two additional non-voting members represent the Hotel-Motel Association and the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau. The Board sets policy for the Corporation and is committed to maximizing the economic and fiscal benefits created by the Center.)

The San Diego Convention Center Corporation is a 501(c) non-profit, public benefit corporation created by the City of San Diego to operate and manage the city’s bayfront convention center. The original 1.7 million-square-foot building opened in 1989 and was expanded to its current size of 2.6 million square feet in 2001.

The San Diego Convention Center Corporation’s mission is to generate significant regional economic benefits by attracting national conventions and trade shows to its world-class facility. Over the past 18 years, the Convention Center has been incredibly successful, generating more than $13.6 billion in economic impact, producing more than $281.8 million in total tax revenues and creating nearly 8,000 region-wide jobs. In addition to hosting national conventions and meetings, the Center continues to serve as a premier gathering place for community events.

San Diego is a first-tier convention city whose competition includes such heavy hitters as Las Vegas, Anaheim, San Francisco, Orlando, Dallas and New Orleans. The city’s superb climate, coastal setting, vibrant downtown and awardwinning convention center have made it a top meeting destination, particularly for high-end medical conventions and tradeshows.

But, at the same time, this remarkable success has brought new challenges for the Corporation and its board of directors. Several of the Convention Center’s largest and most lucrative events have outgrown the existing building and are now having to book their future business elsewhere. Other cities, responding to San Diego’s stunning success as a top destination, are moving aggressively to lure away the Corporation’s most valued clients by offering free or discounted convention space and substantially lower hotel rates. Mega hotels, combining accommodations, exhibit space, retail and attractions all under one roof are now competing for many of the same clients, particularly medical shows. And finally, Las Vegas’ abundant exhibit space, massive quantity of hotel rooms and huge marketing budget is seriously impacting the Corporation’s ability to compete within the regional western market.

As a result of these growing challenges, the board has made a third-phase expansion of San Diego’s convention center a top priority and is laying the initial groundwork for expanding the building.