Despite the current economic downturn and the city’s massive budget deficits, the San Diego government is currently considering undertaking a massive project to expand the Convention Center. The proposal is still in the works, but current estimates are that the expansion would cost over fifty million dollars a year over the next two decades with the final price tag somewhere in the seven hundred million range.
The Convention Center is a focal point of the local tourist industry, bringing mass sums of revenue to surrounding businesses in the downtown area. The Center generated record profits in the fiscal year ending June 30th of 2008, generating $31.9 million in tax revenue. The San Diego Convention Center Corporation estimates that it brought $1.8 billion to the local downtown economy.
The Mayor’s office has created a Convention Center Panel to look into the feasibility of an expansion, led by Port Commissioner Stephen Cushman and former Convention Center Chairwoman Cheryl Kendrick. In a press release from the Mayor’s office Sanders said that “remaining competitive in the convention business” was essential for the struggling city economy.
The Convention Center is a key source of profit for businesses in the downtown area, however there is some doubt as to whether now is the right time to invest so much into an expansion. There are many in the local community that wonder if now is the appropriate time to be considering a project of this magnitude. The City is already mired in a deep budget deficit, and government funding is being cut in multiple areas including school districts and police and fire stations.
Questions abound as to how the expansion will be paid for, and whether this money would not be better spend on other things. Raising the hotel tax is one of the main ways the city government has proposed it will generate funding, but opponents point out that the hotel industry is already struggling to maintain the status quo and could go under completely if taxes were raised even further.
This will be a key issue that deserves to be watched closely moving forward. With massive budget cuts being enacted by state and local governments throughout California it is crucial that our leaders practice sound decision-making when spending taxpayer money.
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