Trop’s convention center? Hmm, please.

I’ve heard bad ideas in nearly 30 years of reports from the Tampa Bay Times, but pasting a convention center on the Tropicana Field site might be the worst. The Stalin era has been thinking about recipes for creating dead spaces from tourism, urban planning, growth and much-needed public property.

St. Petersburg and Pinellas County are jointly considering whether to place a convention centre on the TROP site as part of a remake of the historic gas factory district. The news would have locked in the new combined community following the collapse of new stadium deals with the Tampa Bay Rays. It also follows the announcement that the ray is in “exclusive debate” about the possibility of sales to Jacksonville’s owned groups. The team can remain in the Tampa Bay Area, but local officials are assuming that they can understand a new chapter in the property of the 86-acre gas plant.

The St. Petersburg administrator told the city council this month that the two local governments agreed to conduct a feasibility study to determine whether the project is “workable.” This study assesses the market for convention centres, their ideal size, and the potential for facilities to support local tourism, growth and employment development.

Save money for everyone now. Asking a convention consultant if a convention center makes sense is like asking a Wall Street trader if he believes in capitalism. I’ve seen this movie many times. Some consultants are mandatory if the government is stupid enough to sink millions into Boodoggle.

But convention centers are often money pits that make money even more intense. As the New York Times recently reported, businesses have pulled back spending on annual meetings, with fewer people attending them. In the post-Covid era, employers have cut travel costs and employees are happy remotely. Most of the 175 convention centers across the United States operate at loss, experts say, but only 20 convention centers account for 80% of the largest recurring events. This is a limited market for a small number of people and a tough environment for new players to participate and compete.

For a number of reasons, I don’t want to avoid the economic impact of the convention center. One is exaggerating their influence by taking credits to fill hotels and restaurants that are usually booked anyway. This makes it almost impossible to determine what these facilities really contribute. Second, large public cash spending is required for convention centres to be well maintained and cash to work modern. That also distorts your financial situation. But the economic debate is largely because the idea of ​​monetizing trop above all else equals political misconduct. If it’s the only standard, then just sniff it out there and use it.

A convention center is a space hog that sits idle for a long period of time. As a government building, they consume a huge amount of resources and add little to the surrounding environment, while paying nothing in property taxes. These venues also do not facilitate connections. The convention is managed like passengers on a cruise ship. That’s the business model and part of the experience. Locals rarely attend events. I do business once or twice a year at the Tampa Convention Center. It will probably take an hour. I spend more time at the vet.

The idea of ​​a convention centre as a major tool for tourism and employment development also represents a throwback mentality. Tampa Bay may have needed these facilities decades ago to showcase the outside world. But that wasn’t the case for the year as the explosive growth of our area’s downtown, commercial districts, universities, Pineras Beach and Tampa International Airport reflects the popularity of the region.

The proposal also raises a more basic and troublesome question: Does our government even hear? Just a few weeks ago, hundreds of people joined the Times forum to brainstorm the future of TROP. This was a true cross-section of people, from residents and business owners to urban planners and community activists, who benefited directly from decisions. The proposals were varied, but the messages were the same. Do not waste this property. Do something dynamic. Make it a vibrant, hub, a place for everyone. Balance your economic and social goals and make your site sustainable. It’s the same thing that everyone has said for years.

Our government leaders have been stuck in the past. We take away the service economy with deductible wages, have almost mass transport and starve public schools. Our solution is to build a convention center. If you think it’s important to hold a meeting, then that’s fine. It supports Tampa’s long-standing convention center with new marketing and access to the Pinellas venue. No public dollars competing across the bay are needed.

Local leaders need to realize how lucky they are to have 86 acres in a thriving downtown as a blank canvas to play. It’s time to be ambitious and carve a deeper identity. You won’t get it at the convention center.