The Cook Convention Center’s long and winding road
The next issue of Inside Memphis Business comes out next week packed with a great list of meeting venues (what we call our Venue Menu, natch), and several features on some of the more significant developments going on in the hotel and convention business.
Those include the much-discussed possibility of a Loew’s hotel at 100 North Main, the calculated growth of Graceland, and getting up to date on the Cook Convention Center. In the convention center story, we interview Pierre Landaiche, general manager of the operation, who tells us what the proposed new facility will be like.
But what led up to making the changes at the convention center, which was built in 1974? For one thing, it’s 44 years old and hasn’t been aging well. It’s functional, but other cities are getting convention business because the current facility isn’t offering the best and latest. Officials hope that by 2020, there will be a rebuilt center that will be as competitive as any for a similar sized city.
For a couple of decades, though, getting a new center has been an idea that got a lot of talk but not much purposeful action. Wayne Tabor, chairman of the Memphis Cook Convention Center Commission, talked about the winding road it took to get where we are today.
Tabor was appointed to the center’s board in 2001 by Mayor Willie W. Herenton. At the time, the Ellis Auditorium was being torn down and building of the Cannon Center in its place was going on. But it took a while to even get to that point. Around 1997, the convention center improvement project was estimated by architects to be $52 million. But when costs went up to $72 million, the entire effort was reexamined. Tabor says the construction company was making changes that jacked up the price.
What to do? Tabor, who was then president of the Hotel Lodging Association, had to immediately deal with the hotel industry being looked at as a possible solution. “We were convinced it was extremely important to the hotel industry as well as the overall tourism industry,” he says, “and there was a heated debate amongst us in the hotel industry, but we decided that a convention center was better than a hole in the ground.” The local hoteliers finally agreed that the hotel industry would go along with a 1.7 percent bed tax to bail out the convention center project.
But few things run smooth when politics are involved. The city council tinkered with the revenue, decided some of it should go to maintenance at the Mid-South Coliseum, and some to the Wonders cultural series, and some to the Children’s Museum. “It didn’t leave enough money to totally complete the convention center,” Tabor says. There was some maneuvering and bond issues that helped, and the ballroom and the Cannon Center were completed, “but really no renovation of the rest of the building was done,” he says.
“We tried to put some carpet in there,” Tabor says, “and paint it and fix it up. I mean, paint covers a lot of things, but it doesn't bring you up to date on the facility.”
Eventually the 1.7 percent bed tax was redirected to pay off and fund maintenance of the FedExForum and thus, the whole convention center shebang was rethought again.
Studies were done and some felt the existing location wasn’t the best and there were a couple of other places downtown that would be better. And a brand spanking new convention center would be in the neighborhood of around $600 million. This was right around the time Nashville had committed to its own convention center, which would open in 2013 at a cost of $623 million.
“But we got into a little recession during that time period,” Tabor says, “and our plan got shelved. The people doing the study looked at where our bed tax was going, looked at what alternative funding we had, and we had none.” The feds weren’t going to fund it, nor the state. So the plan sat on the shelf.
Soon after Jim Strickland was elected mayor, Tabor’s Metropolitan Memphis Hotel & Lodging Association decided to tax hotels 1.8 percent to at least get some fix-up, new wi-fi, food and beverage amenities. “We figured we could fund about $60 million worth of work with the 1.8% bed tax,” he says. “And then the Strickland administration stepped up and said, let us look, see what we can find to kick into this thing. And through the TDZ Zone (tourism development zone) they found a way to finance it.”
Ultimately, the figure arrived at was $175 million and Tabor hopes to get bids soon and construction going this fall. And looking to the future, he sees not just a shiny new convention center, but a revitalized downtown. “There's definitely a transformation going on,” he says, ticking off the recently announced Hyatt Centric hotel as part of the One Beale project, the interest of Loew’s Hotels, the intention of other hotels looking at space. “All of that plays together, and I think that our downtown tourism industry over the next few years really will start picking up and have a major impact on Memphis and spread some tax dollars around.”
Karen LombardoKaren Lombardo, general manager at Roadshow BMW-Mini, was honored by Automotive News magazine recently in its 40 Under 40 list of top performers at dealerships nationwide.
A photo and story of Lombardo were in the July 16 issue, noting that “In her fifth full month working at the store, the dealership reached its highest unit sales volume in more than a year. She improved lead conversion to 21.6 percent by April, up from 12.6 percent for all of 2017.”
Her previous work as sales and marketing manager for BMW Financial Services gave her insight into what works and what doesn’t at the retail level, she says.
Lombardo has focused on boosting marketing initiatives, adding to the sales team, and improving lead conversion to boost sales.
Sales-tax holiday
National Federation of Independent Business looks with approval on this weekend’s sales-tax holiday. NFIB State Director Jim Brown says the break consumers get on clothes, school supplies, and computers will be a shot in the arm for many small businesses. “When you combine the sales-tax holiday with the usual back-to-school deals, you really put people in the mood to shop,” Brown says.
“Even if you don’t need school clothes, you can save a lot of money by shopping during the sales-tax holiday,” he said. “The sales-tax holiday can really help you stretch a dollar.” NFIB is asking shoppers to buy at least some of their school clothes and supplies at small, locally-owned businesses, Brown said. “You can find some great deals and unique merchandise when you shop small,” he said. “Plus, you support local retailers, you support the businesses that support local charities and schools and create jobs.”
To learn more about this weekend's tax holiday, visit the Department of Revenue's website here.
Power Player
Inside Memphis Business magazine publishes a list of local Power Players every year. These are the movers and shakers in more than 30 categories who get things done in their respective fields. IMB’s April issue has the complete list. We also publish individual categories in other issues throughout the year, and we feature individual Power Players in our weekly Tip Sheet.
Today’s Power Player: Marcia Kaufman (Arts & Entertainment)
Executive director, IRIS Orchestra. Graduate, Manhattan School of Music. Recently served as executive director, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Breckenridge Music Festival. Co-founder and artistic director, Icicle Creek Music Center, a summer chamber music festival of performance and advanced studies in Leavenworth, Washington. Member of numerous chamber ensembles and chamber orchestras.
