Re: KC convention business (and Omaha)

NovakOmaha · Post by **NovakOmaha** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 9:14 pm

Kansas City Business Journal - 8:23 AM CDT Wednesday
Study: Boost tourism and conventions, or face big bill
Mark Kind
Staff Writer
Revenue from Kansas City's convention facilities covers just 41 percent of their operating expenses, and the city needs to boost both tourism and convention business as the bills begin to come due for billions of dollars in new facilities Downtown, the Civic Council of Kansas City said in a report Tuesday.

"Convention and tourism are very important to Kansas City, particularly as we make these multimillion-dollar investments in infrastructure," Jim Heeter said Tuesday in a meeting of the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association executive committee.

But Kansas City struggles to compete for convention business with its peer cities, such as Oklahoma City and Omaha, Heeter said.

City Manager Wayne Cauthen said the city's performance as a convention and tourism destination will become more urgent as the entertainment district, Sprint Center arena and Bartle Hall Ballroom near completion and the city has to repay bonds.

City Hall could face tough choices in cutting basic services if downtown improvements don't generate more tax income for the city, he said.

"If this is not successful, we'll have to figure out a way to pay for it," Cauthen said.

The study largely endorsed the city's recent management of Bartle Hall and related buildings Downtown and did not call for turning the facilities over to private managers.

Instead, the study said the city should consider creating a single-purpose governance structure to manage operations and financing of major convention and tourism facilities in Kansas City.

The study also recommended:

Publicizing improvements Downtown with an image campaign, coordinated among the CVA, the Kansas City Regional Destination Alliance, the Kansas City Area Development Council and other booster organizations.
Taking a unified regional marketing approach to tourism.
Simplifying revenue streams to the city's convention facilities department and the CVA.
Setting performance standards for the convention center's marketing, management, customer service and financial management, using models established by Global Spectrum, which manages Kemper Arena and the American Royal Complex, or other private managers.
Empowering the convention facilities department to operate with greater flexibility and autonomy.
Streamlining and clarifying the marketing and sales roles of the convention facilities department, the CVA and other organizations.
Improving coordination of bookings for meetings and events for users of Kansas City facilities.
CVA Chairman Bill George said a unified marketing effort would be more efficient in attracting visitors to Kansas City than the current effort, in which six or more organizations receive city money to boost the city independently.

"We are squandering a huge opportunity to get this message out," he said.

In a comparison of revenue and expenses in nine markets, Kansas City's $4 million in revenue against $10 million in Convention Center operating expenses ranked worst. In 2003, Denver took in about the same amount from convention business, but spent only $5.1 million on operating its convention center, the report said.

The study said that in 2003, Kansas City averaged 56 percent hotel room occupancy, compared with 58 percent among its peers: San Antonio, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Nashville, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville and Columbus, Ohio.

Post by **Coyote** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 9:26 pm

I like our peer group!

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 10:20 pm

So if the picture is that bleak... how are they justifying their major convention center expansion?

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:48 am

Coyote wrote:I like our peer group!

Me too..And good question..

From the piece:

'In a comparison of revenue and expenses in nine markets, Kansas City's $4 million in revenue against $10 million in Convention Center operating expenses ranked worst. In 2003, Denver took in about the same amount from convention business, but spent only $5.1 million on operating its convention center, the report said'..

Yikes! and a bit

..Considering the coin they've been spending for convention center expansion..And the Sprint Center..

Their Convention and Tourism Bureau will need to spend some big bank to 'get the word out'..And where will this funding come from?..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

zedmib · Post by **zedmib** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:04 am

San Antonio, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Nashville, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville and Columbus, Ohio.

Very good company. We are the smallest metro in that list. Go Qwest!

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:35 pm

Haven't any of you all seen KC's 'wonderful' tv marketing this past summer in Omaha? It was this old (Walmart greeter old) pioneer guy going around alot of nondescript places in KC. The narrative was him writting a letter back home about this 'strange place' he discovered. The ad then goes on to show him going the wrong way up a down escalator and stabbing a steak with a huge knife in a restaurant. KC's new slogan is "New Discoveries Daily". It makes me really like the "O!"

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:36 pm

Don't think we're so far away from Rare-Well Done...

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:40 pm

The O! has grown on me though. And it does make sense obviously from Omaha starting with "O" and people from out of town actually saying. KC's slogan could be for anywhere in the country. I think O! is more along the lines of "I(heart)NY" and the more popular city slogans that are escaping me right now.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 1:06 am

Like "Flint Michigan, our new spark will surprise you" ?

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 11:53 pm

do you guys just do a daily scan of KC news sources for "Omaha"?

A few words about all of this.

In a comparison of revenue and expenses in nine markets, Kansas City's $4 million in revenue against $10 million in Convention Center operating expenses ranked worst.

The 9 markets studied were: Indy, Vegas, Atlanta, SD, Chicago, Denver, STL, MPLS, & KC. I have no doubt KC would come in last out of those cities. Indy suprised me the most with $40M in revenue (equal to Vegas).

No doubt KC needs to do better in raising revenues in these convention facilities...we are spending too much and not getting enough in return.

The study said that in 2003, Kansas City averaged 56 percent hotel room occupancy, compared with 58 percent among its peers: San Antonio, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Nashville, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville and Columbus, Ohio.

This is a wide variety of "peer" cities. From a metro of 3.5M (MPLS) to 750k (Omaha). Not sure who came up with that list of cities. Probably midwest cities we compete against for conventions....which I would agree with that list.

So if the picture is that bleak... how are they justifying their major convention center expansion?

I'm not sure the future is bleak....this was more a wakeup call to manage expenses better as I took it. Our expansion is needed to begin competing again with the larger markets who are getting the bigger conventions.

Yikes! and a bit ..Considering the coin they've been spending for convention center expansion..And the Sprint Center..

Spend money to make it, right? Actually the Sprint Center wouldn't be included with the convention expenses talked about in this story.

Their Convention and Tourism Bureau will need to spend some big bank to 'get the word out'..And where will this funding come from?..

That money is already in the budget, how they spend it seems to be the issue.

The O! has grown on me though. And it does make sense obviously from Omaha starting with "O" and people from out of town actually saying. KC's slogan could be for anywhere in the country. I think O! is more along the lines of "I(heart)NY" and the more popular city slogans that are escaping me right now.

These silly slogans change every 3rd year it seems....I doubt many are planning their vacations based on a tagline.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 12:51 am

'do you guys just do a daily scan of KC news sources for "Omaha"? '..

Well, this is the 'Nebraska and Regional' section of an Omaha forum..It is an article appropriately placed and of regional interest..Not sure why the creation of this thread topic would be such a revelation..

Anyway..

Omaha's metro is 803,801 now according to the 2004 US Census estimate..It was 767,000 in 2000..Don't short change us the 53k

..

-Yes..Spend money to make it..

-Good to hear the money is in the KCMO coffers..Spend it wisely..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 7:26 pm

Plus if you want to throw around CSA's (like MSP's 3.5) than Omaha has 840,000.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 8:46 pm

they were just numbers off the top of my head....sorry to offend.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 10:14 pm

Close enough.

PistolPete · Post by **PistolPete** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 2:30 pm

jhuston wrote:So if the picture is that bleak... how are they justifying their major convention center expansion?

That's not the major expansion. That's just a new ballroom.

The proposed major expansion will expand the main exhibit hall to the west into an L shape that will stretch above the freeway tunneling the I-35 and 670 interchange.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 2:47 pm

I was referring to the proposed exhibition space expansion.