Proposition #1: Total renovation of the Waco Convention Center
Includes exterior and interior finishes, a new grand entry, expanded pre-function
space, a large kitchen and new mechanical, electrical and plumbing. $17,500,000.
Cost to average homeowner: $1.88 / mo.
Convention Center Fire Parks Police Libraries Ranger Museum |
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Our 1971-built facility has become so outmoded that it was rejected as “not nice enough” by more than a few convention groups. These deficits reduce the City’s capacity to bring in the $9+ million in new money that convention-attending tourists add to Waco’s annual economy. It’s a shame to lose conventions to Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Lubbock — or to Amarillo whose convention center has outspent Waco’s $16 to $1 in renovations and expansions. Just one lost convention last year (due to our lack of small meeting rooms) cost Waco businesses $798,000 — direct dollars, with no multiplier effect added. Waco Convention Center is inadequate to meet the sophisticated demands of profitable upscale conventions and corporate groups who spend more than the average tourist. |
Waco Convention Center revenues will increase at a projected rate of 5.8 percent a year* which will bring in an added $500,000 across the four years following renovations. Planned renovations will increase ability to serve multiple groups simultaneously, increasing revenue production and making the facility more available to local groups. Enlarging the scope of convention business brings even more tourist dollars and added sales tax revenues into our community, lowering the tax obligations of our local citizens. Refurbished facilities will provide far nicer space for the over 150 local groups that use the convention center each year. Enhanced Convention Center and the business it brings downtown will further serve to bring even more options to Waco in fine dining and entertainment venues – that we all enjoy. *2002-03 independent study by PKF Consulting and Morris Architects.
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