9/18/2011
By CHRIS HUNTER Salina Journal
Back in July, the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce's Sylvia Rice told Salina city commissioners that the city was losing an estimated $650,000 annually because five of the top 10 conventions in Salina since 2008 had left town because of a lack of a convention center with an attached hotel.

In addition, Rice, the director of the chamber's Visit Salina division, said two other groups with a spending effect of $321,000 are looking to leave. Rice said she couldn't reveal the name of the conventions that had left because the organizers had asked for anonymity, and the chamber wanted to maintain good relations with them.

Rice also declined to name the convention groups remaining in town because other towns could target those conventions, she said.

The Salina Journal looked at the Top 15 events at the Bicentennial Center since 2008 and was unable to find any groups that had left because of a lack of a nearby hotel. Even city commissioners and City Manager Jason Gage say they don't have that information.

"No one has ever told us who has left," said Commissioner Aaron Householter. "I would wonder what difference it makes (to tell commissioners) if they left. Don't know why that is a protected trade secret."

Mayor Samantha Angell said the city should have information on events that left the Salina Bicentennial Center.

Why some have left

The conventions that have discontinued using the Salina Bicentennial Center since 2008 include the Kansas West Conference of the United Methodist Church. It left last year for Hutchinson, not because the Bicentennial Center doesn't have a nearby hotel, but because the Bicentennial Center raised its prices.

"We usually bring 700 to 1,000 people to the conference," said Kim Dickerson-Ord, chairwoman of the planning committee overseeing the annual conference. "It has quite an impact on the community when our members go out to eat and go shopping."

Another convention, the Kansas Department of Transportation Winter Expo, was discontinued because of state budget cuts.

An organizer for the Century of Toys show said that event was discontinued for "personal reasons," while the AMBUCS Family Leisure Living and Sport Show was discontinued because of declining interest.

Why Salina is left out

When asked for the names of groups that had left Salina because of a lack of a hotel next to the Bicentennial Center, chamber CEO and President Dennis Lauver referred the Journal to the Kansas Cattlemen's Association and the Kansas Association of Counties.

Sarah Meyer, conference and meeting planner and education coordinator with the Kansas Association of Counties, said her group can meet only in Wichita, Overland Park and Topeka, because no other Kansas town has the needed convention center and hotel space under one roof.

Meyer called Salina a "great locale and we are interested in coming there," but the group hasn't met in Salina in more than 15 years.

Meyer said no city in Kansas can accommodate in the same hotel all 800 to 900 people who attend the three-day conference, so overflow hotels are used.

She said a recent study performed by Overland Park estimated that the conference had an economic effect of $855,000 on the community.

Kelsey Gibson, sales representative for the Kansas Cattlemen's Association, said her group has had conferences in Salina in the past, but it currently has its annual meeting at the Ramada hotel and convention center in Hutchinson. The group brings 100 to 200 people to the meeting each year.

"The decision (on the location) is made by our board members," Gibson said. "Part of the decision comes down to location. Depending on who is appointed to the board, it could be at one place or another." She said the majority of the group's board members are from western Kansas.

Gibson said she couldn't say whether a hotel-conference center plays into the decision on the location of the conference.

Not with taxpayer money

Although the chamber for years has talked about a hotel near the Salina's Bicentennial Center, Rice said that's not what the chamber was advocating when she made her presentation to city commissioners. She said it was merely to inform commissioners of the business the city had lost from not having a convention center and hotel combination.

At that July meeting, Householter called the idea of building a hotel near the Bicentennial Center a "pipe dream." Now, Householter said he thinks the chamber's presentation to the city in July was misleading.

Although Rice didn't mention the Bicentennial Center in her presentation to commissioners, Householter said he believes the chamber basically asked commissioners to build a hotel next to the center.

"Do you want money or for us to surrender public lands?" Householter said. "I don't like the doublespeak and guessing game. Tell me exactly what we want."

Householter said Salina needs a convention center with a hotel, but not at a cost to the taxpayers.

"They (the chamber) tell us it needs to be built," Householter said. "They should go get someone to build it. If there is such a demand, why won't someone build it."

Angell said any hotel-convention center in the city would have to be a private venture.

What more groups want

With more than 2,000 rooms available at Salina motels and hotels, Rice said Salina can offer a site for a convention and off-site hotels, but more groups want events under one roof.

Rice said Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence and suburbs of Kansas City all have convention centers that have taken business from Salina.

In the coming months, a 135-room, 35,000-square-foot Hilton Garden Inn Hotel and Conference Center will be completed in Manhattan. Rice said the Manhattan conference center already has taken business from Salina.

"In the '70s, everyone had a Bicentennial Center and people drove to hotels," Rice said. "Now, as a meeting planner, it is easier if people don't have to drive to an event."

Householter said competing with other cities comes at a risk.

"I think we sometimes think that if we build a big thing, it is going to be a big success," Householter said. "I don't think that is always the case. We are never going to be able to compete with Kansas City, Wichita and other bigger cities. The only way would be is if they get so busy."

Householter said he has heard talk for years about a possible hotel near the Bicentennial Center, but a hotel in downtown Salina doesn't make sense.

"People used to think the Salina Inn (now the Phoenix at Fifth and Iron streets) was going to be a big draw when downtown was the center of Salina's business," Householter said. "Fast forward 40 years and the downtown is no longer the center of retail business. I'm not saying someone won't do it, but I would be shocked."

Finding a hotel at 2 a.m.

Householter said he would expect a hotel near a convention center located in the center of town would be busy during conventions, but would have little business the rest of the year.

"I don't think people are going to get off the highway and drive to the middle of town to get lost at 2 a.m. looking for a hotel," Householter said. "From a business sense, I don't think a person would want to drive two-and-a-half miles into town to get a hotel. Those places want to be on the edges of town."

Householter said the city would have to take a serious look at any hotel options that would require funding or incentives.

BiCenter costs too much

Dickerson-Ord said the city and chamber were very welcoming to the Methodist conference, but increased rates at the Bicentennial Center caused them to leave.

"We have faced cuts over the past year because of a budget shortfall," Dickerson-Ord said. "We don't have the funds to pay for a venue that increases prices."

The city of Salina increased rates at the Bicentennial Center in 2009, a move aimed at bringing in 30 percent more revenue a year. The center brought in $750,239 in 2009, $713,321 in 2010 and is expected to bring in $755,000 by the end of 2011.

Another factor that led to the group leaving Salina was the insistence that it not have vendors compete with the Bicentennial Center's catering.

Dickerson-Ord said the conference appreciates the "flexibility" offered by Hutchinson.

"We can find our own caterer and do our own hospitality," Dickerson-Ord said.

As for the Century of Toys show, it shut down after 39 years in Salina for "personal reasons." Show organizer Marian Condray said she is looking for someone to take it over, but it has to remain in Salina.

Held at the Bicentennial Center on the third Sunday in October since 2002, the show drew toy dealers from across the country on their way to a bigger show in Chicago.

"It needs to be in Salina," Condray said. "That's where the dealers want it."

It's the economy

The Kansas Department of Transportation pulled its annual Winter Expo out of Salina because of the economy. The event, which brought about 700 people to Salina, was put on hold after 2008.

Kimberly Qualls, public affairs manager for northeastern Kansas with the Kansas Department of Transportation, said KDOT has looked for cuts everywhere in the agency because of the state's budget crunch.

Qualls said webinars and video conferencing are being used for some training.

And in December, AMBUCS announced it would pull the plug on the Family Leisure Living and Sport Show. After years of declining numbers of visitors and vendors, AMBUCS decided to cancel the show after 47 years.

Private management a question

Rice said another uncertainty is a city proposal to seek private management of the Bicentennial Center.

"We have never worked in that format (private management)," Rice said. "We think there is a potential for it to have a positive effect. We are just not sure."

Rice said a private company with national connections could negotiate more quickly with events than the city could.

"We are anxious to see how it will work," Rice said. "It works well in some markets."

-- Reporter Chris Hunter can be reached at 822-1422 or by email at chunter@salina.com.

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