June 2007 Meeting Summaries

Convention Center Task Force

June 2007 Meeting Summaries

June 6 * June 28

CONVENTION CENTER TASK FORCE - Planning Meeting

June 6, 2007

Clanzenetta “Mickee” Brown

JCCI Consultant – Task Force Planner

cctf@jcci.org

IN ATTENDANCE: Convention Center Task Force: Ron Barton and Toney Sleiman

Media – Rachel Witkowski (JBJ)

Staff: Mickee Brown, Skip Cramer, John Reyes, and Ben Warner

MEETING TIME: 4:00 – 4:50 p.m.

PURPOSE: Prepare for the July Site Selection Subcommittee meetings. This meeting grew out of a staff request to JEDC for maps and other graphic devices that identify the positioning of available land in downtown and pockets of existing and proposed market infrastructure (hotels, restaurants, bars/nightclubs, cultural venues, etc.)

MEETING SUMMARY

Discussion

Various downtown sites have been identified in previous convention studies – Jacksonville Convention Center (1999) and the HOK’s Jacksonville Convention Center Site Study Analysis (2004). These analyses will be provided to subcommittee members as a base for beginning their work.

Criteria for both site selection and a viable convention center have also been presented in the prior reports and confirmed by the TAP report. These criteria, such as proximity to hotels, land costs, pedestrian access, potential for expansion and others will be used to help frame subcommittee discussion.

Publicly owned land is scarce downtown.

§ The courthouse annex

§ Old city hall building (Hyatt has an option on the property)

§ Sports complex land (COJ has to make sure parking obligations are met)

§ A few blocks near the Prime Osborn

§ JEA Site

The Site Selection Subcommittee (SSS) will also have the option of considering non-downtown sites for building a new convention center. Areas mentioned include the Airport, Beaches, and South Jacksonville.

Deliverables

Ron agreed to provide…

§ Retail distribution map

§ Inventory of graphics from the JEDC Downtown Task Force groups

§ JEDC staff support

§ PDF files of HOK graphics

Toney also offered to provide a downtown map.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Convention Center Task Force

Meeting Summary

June 28, 2007

Clanzenetta “Mickee” Brown

JCCI Consultant-Task Force Planner

cctf@jcci.org

IN ATTENDANCE: Task Force Members M.G. Orender, Tony Allegretti, Charles Appleby, Ron Barton, Danny Berenberg, Robert Champion, Jack Diamond, Pam Edwards-Roine, Randy Evans, Bob Johnson, Kish Kanji, Mille Kanyar, Jerry Mallot, Albert Marchant, Donald McClure, Mike Miller, Medardo Monzon, David Potts, Fred Pozin, John Reyes, A.D. Roberts, Toney Sleiman, Scott Stuckey, Ron Townsend, Tri Vu, and Mark Wood. Community Participants: Sue Bennett, Larry Brake, Joan Mobley, Dan King, R.L. Gundy, and Bill Sulzbacher Media – Alison Trinidad (TU), Karen Brune Mathis (JBJ). Staff – Mickee Brown, Skip Cramer, John Reyes, and Nicole Trueblood.

[Staff note: If your name is not listed above, please advise staff.]

MEETING TIME: 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

PURPOSE: Review Phase I of the Jacksonville’s Convention Center Feasibility study conducted by CSL International

SPEAKER: John Kaatz Vice President, CSL International

MEETING SUMMARY

[Staff note: The write-up below is a summary, not a verbatim transcript. Please read through the document to make sure the pertinent points were captured. If anything is missing or misstated, please advise staff.]

Chair M.G. Orender welcomed the task force back after two months without subcommittee reports. He went on to share his observations about the Tampa site visit on May 31, 2007 stating that what Tampa has accomplished in 15 years is remarkable. As a Tampa native, M. G. recalled that the area was heavily industrial and dilapidated. Tampa’s turnaround is indicative of what Jacksonville can accomplish. [Staff note: Read the trip summary at http://www.jcci.org/convention%20center/convention%20center/May%202007%20Meeting%20Summaries.htm.]

JCCI facilitator Skip Cramer reminded the group of ground rules, reviewed the consensus building process, and described the roles of the chair, facilitator and task force. He also walked the group through the evening’s handouts.

The chair invited John Kaatz of CSL International to present the summary of CSL’s Phase I convention center feasibility report. [Staff note: The highlights below cannot substitute for reading the full CSL Phase I Executive Summary distributed during this presentation. That document is available on line or by contacting JCCI’s offices.]

Highlights of John Kaatz’s presentation…

Market analysis

Market Strengths

Presence of international airport
Driving access to several markets
Local population and corporate base
Potential cost benefits
Beaches, resorts, golf and other visitor amenities

Market Weaknesses

Lack of brand identity and awareness
Inventory of downtown hotels, restaurants and retail
Downtown entertainment and nightlife
Proximity to competitive markets with many facility alternatives
Few traditional, full-service, convention–quality hotel properties
Lack of industry reputation as a conference/convention “destination”

The Center operates in an environment that is lacking adequate hotel and entertainment amenities, which are critical to convention and tradeshow industry success. Furthermore, competitive destinations are working towards creating a package of amenities that include convention, hotel and entertainment amenities that are within walking distance of their primary convention venue. To the extent that Jacksonville is not able to offer this type of convention package, it will not successfully penetrate the high-impact convention and tradeshow market.

Operations

The Center is underutilized. The number of low impact civic or private events consistently exceeds 70 percent at the Prime Osborn. This facility is not being utilized as a convention center. Conventions and tradeshows make up the Prime’s smallest book of business. Total occupancy at the Prime in 2006 was 34 percent, which is below the industry average of 50 percent.

Though Jacksonville could benefit from being a Florida destination, event planners are more likely to choose better known Florida destinations or remove the city from consideration due to a limited hotel/convention center package.

Significant business is recorded as lost at the Prime, likely due to a combination of factors including lack of an attached hotel.

Convention business

The convention industry is a stable and growing business. After September 11, there was a loss of momentum matched by an overall economic downturn. Recent data indicate that attendance and the number of companies hosting conventions is back at pre-2001 levels. Meeting planners are also optimistic about their need for convention space.

Competition

17 competitive centers were reviewed.

	Competitive set averages	Prime	Hyatt
Exhibit space	125,000 SF	78,500 SF	None
Ballrooms	27,700 SF	10,100 SF	28,000 SF
Meeting space	28,700 SF	29,300 SF	49,300 SF
HQ hotel rooms	600 rooms	None	966 rooms
# of rooms within one-half mile of the Center	2,800 rooms	354 rooms	966 rooms

The Prime ranked 15th among the centers reviewed in terms of exhibit space. However, the Prime can still accommodate 60-65 percent of national conventions and tradeshows where the average exhibit space needed is 62,200 SF.

With more ballroom and meeting space than the Prime, the Hyatt Riverfront is Jacksonville’s convention center sans the exhibit hall. At 966 rooms, the Hyatt is also the largest convention hotel in the competitive set. The Hyatt can accommodate 90-95 percent of national convention market based on ballroom and meeting space alone, where the Prime can only accommodate 60 percent of that market.

The Hyatt, with approximately 49,600 square feet of meeting space, ranks second behind Birmingham in available meeting space.

Jacksonville’s convention package is not competitive because the Prime with its exhibit space is to far away from the Hyatt with its hotel rooms, meeting, and ballroom space. If the two were side-by-side, Jacksonville would have a much stronger package.

Market Demand Analysis

	Average for National Conventions/Tradeshows	Average for Regional Conventions/Tradeshows	Prime	Hyatt
Exhibit space	62,200 SF	16,300 SF	78,500 SF	None
Ballrooms	12,100 SF	not supplied	10,100 SF	28,000 SF
Meeting space	32,400 SF	not supplied	29,300 SF	49,300 SF
Committable Hotel Rooms	1,200 rooms	225 rooms	None	650

Approximately 78 percent of event planners from state and regional organizations indicated a potential interest in utilizing Jacksonville convention facilities for a future events (indicating that they would “definitely”, “likely”, or “possibly” utilize a Jacksonville facility. Only 37 percent of event planners for national conventions indicated an interest in Jacksonville.

Exhibit hall space at the Prime satisfies 95 percent of the state and regional organization demand.

Approximately 90 percent of state and regional event planners indicated that their event(s) require a headquarters hotel that is attached or directly adjacent to the meeting facility. Of the competitive facilities reviewed, only Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach and Tallahassee do not currently offer headquarters hotels either attached or adjacent to the event facility. [Staff note: Both the Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach centers are located on the beach and within close proximity to hotels and other amenities.]

The Hyatt’s 650 committable rooms would satisfy approximately 45 percent of the potential national event market. Among the four primary downtown Jacksonville hotels there are approximately 1,300 committable hotel rooms; satisfying approximately 70 percent of the national market. This lack of hotel inventory clearly limits the ability of Jacksonville to attract and accommodate the potential national convention and tradeshow market. If it takes more than two hotels to satisfy needed room nights, meeting planner interests diminishes significantly.

For the large majority of state and regional events, the Hyatt is well-positioned to accommodate demand particular to Jacksonville in terms of available meeting space, ballroom space and hotel room inventory. For larger events, the Prime offers sufficient exhibit space, with some limitations on meeting space, ballroom space and hotel inventory proximate to the facility.

Conclusions

Many competitive destinations offer a diverse package of center, hotel and entertainment within close proximity.
The lack of hotel and entertainment amenities proximate to the Prime Osborn Center represents a major deficiency when competing for non-local business.
Development of retail/entertainment in Jacksonville appears to be trending away from the (Prime Osborn Convention) Center vicinity.
A major benefit of a Florida destination (immediate beach access), is not available in Jacksonville. [Staff note: Of the Florida destinations only Daytona, Ft. Lauderdale, and Miami Beach have convention centers located near to or on the beach.]

Recommendations

Option One: Focus on Existing Convention Facility Inventory Strengths: Under this scenario, the site area surrounding the Hyatt, with a significant inventory of meeting, ballroom and hotel inventory, would become an initial focus for investment in the Jacksonville convention industry utilizing public/private arrangement.

Under this scenario, continued use of the Center would have to be identified. The Center is architecturally and culturally significant within the community, and the public use of the Center should be secured. The continued use of the Center for uses such as local consumer, banquet and meeting events should be pursued.

Option Two: Pursue the Prime F. Osborn Center: Given the fact that the Center currently is viewed as the primary venue within the community catering to the convention and tradeshow market, consideration could be given to further investment in this venue. This option would require significant hotel/entertainment development adjacent to the existing Center’s site.

Q&A and Comments

How many meeting planners did CSL interview?

25-30 national planners and 30-40 state/regionally based planners

Why do event planners choose one location over another?

Locations with a good sized facility, a headquarters hotel, and good airlift were once enough for cities to get in the game to compete. Today, planners are looking at the appeal of a destination. They need to make sure that the chosen city is someplace delegates want to visit, otherwise no one will show. In addition to exhibition space and an adjacent or adjoining hotel, planners want to make sure delegates have options for dining, entertainment, and shopping. [Staff note: For greater detail please visit the CCTF website to review the TAP and GMA studies conducted earlier this year for detailed local and competitive destination appeal data.]

The Prime Osborn was meant to be a convention center that attracts primarily regional groups. When the Prime was built 20 years ago, it was understood that a hotel was necessary to make the center competitive, but a political decision precluded the hotel’s development.

Jacksonville is charged with planning a package that is appealing to event planners and convention delegates as well as a vision for the city as a destination for conventioneers and other tourists.

The Rosen and Gaylord mega-hotels, which offer lodging as well as meeting, ballroom, and exhibit space, are private enterprise competitors to publicly funded convention centers. These hotel chains only come into successful convention markets.

PUBLIC COMMENT: None were offered.

meeting adjourned: The meeting was adjourned at 5:45 p.m.