March 13, 2008

Chamber Connection

San Jose McEnery Convention Center: Critical fuel for San Jose’s economic engine

By Pat Dando
Special to the Times

Last year, 1.25 million visitors chose to attend the many events at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center and Cultural Facilities. While here, they spent $129 million on hotels, local restaurants, entertainment venues and souvenirs.

Factor in $129 million in hotel transient occupancy tax revenue and we had a consistent infusion of dollars that not only helped downtown businesses, it generated much needed tax revenue for the entire city.

Looking ahead, Team San Jose, which manages the operations of the convention center, has reported that more than 74 percent of previous events will again be returning to San Jose through 2009, along with an increase in its booking pace of 10 percent. This will help bring even more events and visitors to San Jose in the coming months.

Plans to grow the convention center in an effort to meet nationwide demands and trends will go a long way in establishing it as a first class competitive venue. If approved, the expanded facility will total 880,000 square feet, including 143,000 square feet of exhibit hall space and 124,500 square feet of ballroom and meeting room space—able to accommodate additional bookings that will be critical to the downtown retail revitalization effort.

Combined with the convenience of being located in the heart of our city, the “walkability” factor will encourage millions of visitors to happily open their wallets to local businesses, hotels, restaurants, nightlife and entertainment. We have all the ingredients needed to turn San Jose into an international convention destination.

The financial ripple effect will come in the form of a bustling, vibrant city, with additional jobs for residents, better earnings, new tax revenues and an influx of new businesses wanting a piece of the action. Increased economic activity will then lead to increased employment and additional household spending will keep this economic engine running.

Over the course of the next several months, city policy makers will determine how and when we not only develop a larger convention center, but what will need to be done to increase and enhance the quality enough to create a dynamic venue—one with a “wow” factor that will keep existing events coming back and new ones waiting to sign up. There is an opportunity here to do it right—to generate a successful convention center that will have a substantial impact on the continued growth of our local economy and the region.