May 1, 200718 yr 'Fusion Weekend' ahead BY RICK BIRD | CINCINNATI POST May 1, 2007 CINCINNATI - The year's first "Fusion Weekend" is upon us. That may not mean much to most Greater Cincinnatians, but tourism industry officials are hoping the marketing concept will catch the fancy of out-of-towners enough to lure them to the Queen City for a visit. For the third year, the Cincinnati USA Regional Tourism Network, whose mission is to promote tourism in the tri-state, is packaging a series of Fusion Weekends with a major advertising campaign aimed at families in neighboring "feeder markets" to come for a long weekend. The marketing effort for the five Fusion events - this year with a $1.7 million budget - was begun in 2005, and officials say it has produced results.
May 18, 200718 yr Tourism groups promote 'go local' BY ALEXANDER COOLIDGE | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER May 18, 2007 CINCINNATI - Bummed out about high gas prices? Planning to spend a little more of your vacation days off the road and closer to home? Local tourism officials say they’re confident the region will attract its share of visitors from out of town, but they don’t discourage budget-minded locals from enjoying the attractions of the area. Some in the industry say they could see more Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky residents playing tourist right at home. Kristin Kitchen, owner of Six Acres Bed & Breakfast in College Hill, has noticed a little more local patronage. She was booked for Mother’s Day weekend with different local guests who didn’t know each other, which is unusual. Personal spending concerns might be the culprit.
May 25, 200718 yr Tourism network unveils multicultural campaign May 25, 2007 | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER CINCINNATI - Cincinnati will put a premium on attracting a diverse crowd to the area's attractions this year, in advance of two large African-American conventions that will be held here in 2008. The Cincinnati USA Regional Tourism Network is making an initiative called "Mosaic Culture" part of its $2 million marketing plan and budget, according to a news release. Beginning this summer, the initiative will focus marketing on a group of events that appeal to multicultural audiences, including the first-ever Salsa Congress, Cincy Latino Festival, Cincinnati Blues Festival, Midwest Black Family Reunion and the Macy's Music Festival, among others. The marketing effort will include a radio and print campaign, and media tours in regional markets. Web content devoted to multicultural programming, events and dining will be added to the www.cincinnatiusa.com Web site, and updated regularly.
June 29, 200717 yr Duke Center fuels economy BY ALEXANDER COOLIDGE | [email protected] In the year since the expanded Duke Energy Center reopened, convention officials estimate the building has made a $27.8 million economic impact on Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Convention officials say they've also booked an additional 45 events through 2016 that would pump another $39.4 million into the local economy. Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau president Dan Lincoln said the center, which was enlarged 30 percent to 750,000 square feet during more than two years of construction that cost $135 million, is fulfilling its mission to bolster economic activity. Major conventions hosted in the last year have included: the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives; the Progressive National Baptist Convention; and the National Association of Hispanic MBAs. Last fall, the center also won national headlines when it landed the 2008 convention for the NAACP. Full article at http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070629/BIZ01/706290335
June 29, 200717 yr Duke Center drawing more, bigger events BY LUCY MAY | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER June 29, 2007 DOWNTOWN - More than a year since the expanded Duke Energy Center's grand opening, the bigger, snazzier downtown convention space is making good on the promise to draw more business travelers and upscale events downtown. Large conventions and trade group meetings held in the center over the past year have brought more than 133,000 people to town and resulted in more than 93,000 room nights sold, according to the Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau. Those figures are strictly for business booked by the bureau that resulted in overnight stays. They don't include such events as the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center's International Freedom Conductor Awards black-tie gala honoring former Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush that drew 1,100 guests, or a 900-person wedding reception over Memorial Day weekend.
July 5, 200717 yr From the 7/3/07 Cincinnati Business Courier: Convention to bring hundreds of people, impact of $1.8M Cincinnati Business Courier - 3:20 PM EDT Tuesday, July 3, 2007 A business group meeting in Cincinnati July 14-July 20 will bring hundreds of people downtown for a series meetings. The CCA Global Partners meetings are expected to bring 1,700 members and 500 vendors to the meetings being held over that seven-day period. The economic impact of the conference is expected to total roughly $1.8 million, according to the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau. CCA Global Partners is a privately held company established in 1984 as Carpet Co-op of America. The cooperative was created to help independently owned carpet retailers get better buying power and has expanded into other industries over the years. Corporate headquarters are in Manchester, N.H. and St. Louis. Most of the group's meetings will take place downtown at the Duke Energy Center. http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/07/02/daily23.html?from_rss=1
July 11, 200717 yr Officials in D.C. to lure convention July 11, 2007 | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER CINCINNATI - A group of Cincinnati and Hamilton County leaders will be touting the city in Washington, D.C., on Thursday in hopes it will be chosen for a 3,000-person convention that would bring an estimated $2.7 million to the region. Cincinnati is among several cities, including St. Louis and Chicago, in the running to host the National Forum for Black Public Administrators' 2011 convention. City Manager Milton Dohoney, Police Chief Tom Streicher, county Commissioner Todd Portune and county Small Business Development Director Bernice Walker, who also heads the local NFBPA chapter, will try to convince the organization that Cincinnati is its best choice. NFBPA is a professional membership organization that aims to advance black leadership in the public sector.
July 13, 200717 yr Sharonville to expand convention center BY MIKE BOYER | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER July 13, 2007 SHARONVILLE - The city will formally launch the long-awaited $20 million expansion of the Sharonville Convention Center today with the presentation of $1 million in county and state funds and the signing of design contracts. In February, Hamilton County Commissioners Todd Portune and David Pepper agreed to a plan to commit $450,000 in surplus county hotel-motel tax money to begin design work to double the 13-year-old convention center to 54,000 square feet. The county money will be combined with $550,000 in state grants for the design work. The convention center expansion is a key part of the city's Northern Lights corridor development project along Chester Road. The corridor improvements, to be paid for through tax-increment financing, got a boost this spring with the opening of the former Comfort Inn across Chester Road as the five-story, limited-service Hamilton Hotel.
July 15, 200717 yr Survey touts role of convention center BY TOM DEMEROPOLIS | CINCINNATI POST July 14, 2007 DOWNTOWN - If you remodel it, they will come. Or so says the results of a 2007 Downtown Cincinnati Survey, which shows 59 percent of respondents said that "convention center public events" are important in motivating people to spend time downtown. The Duke Energy Center reopened in June 2006 after the completion of a $135 million renovation and expansion. City leaders hoped the expanded center would play a role in revitalizing downtown, by bringing in larger groups. But public events are not the only thing drawing people to the center. A large number of out-of-towners attend national conventions, trade shows, private banquets and other special events. The survey showed that the media plays a crucial role in shaping people's views of downtown. Of those who responded, 62 percent said the media does a good job of providing information about activities and events. The Downtown Cincinnati Survey was conducted by Beyond Data Inc., on behalf of Downtown Cincinnati, Inc. The survey is designed to track perceptions about the health, safety and cleanliness of downtown Cincinnati.
July 17, 200717 yr Link contains a photo. From the 7/16/07 Cincinnati Business Courier: Packages, partnerships fusing region's tourism rep RTN is keying on events that attract out-of-towners Cincinnati Business Courier - July 13, 2007 by Lucy May Senior Staff Reporter Cincinnati Museum Center CEO Douglass McDonald had a secret weapon when trying to land the world premiere of National Geographic's "Real Pirates" exhibit: the Cincinnati USA Regional Tourism Network. The network, known as the RTN, promised to invest in promoting "Real Pirates" in surrounding markets to draw visitors from Indianapolis, Lexington, Dayton and points beyond. That was critical in convincing National Geographic and Arts and Exhibitions International LLC to open the exhibit here, McDonald said. In addition to helping the Museum Center promote "Real Pirates," the RTN has teamed up with the Cincinnati Reds to try to bring out-of-town fans back to Cincinnati to catch a game and visit other attractions while they're here. Those efforts resulted in selling 887 tickets in its first three weeks, said RTN President Sean Rugless. Overall, weekend hotel occupancy is up nearly 5 percent through the first four months of the year, according to data compiled for the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Northern Kentucky Convention & Visitors Bureau and the RTN. Full article at http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/07/16/story9.html
July 19, 200717 yr Design begins for expansion BY ANDREA REEVES | COMMUNITY PRESS July 18, 2007 SHARONVILLE - Mayor Virgil Lovitt held up the last of several documents with three names in fresh ink scrawled upon them and said, "We're building a convention center." In a lobby crowded with city officials, Hamilton County commissioners and state representatives, the design phase for the $23 million Sharonville Convention Center expansion officially started Friday, July 13, when Lovitt and Sharonville Safety/Service Director Al Ledbetter signed a contract with CDS Associates President John Eisenmann in a public ceremony at the center. The Convention Center expansion includes a 45,000-square-foot renovation of the existing center, and will include a ballroom, meeting rooms, and support services. A 65,700-square-foot addition will consist of an exhibit hall, retail space, additional meeting rooms and support services. The expansion would make the center the supplier of clients for the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati.
July 20, 200717 yr Aquarium exec sees potential in regional Connect Card Tourism boost could come from selling more cards outside Cincinnati BY LUCY MAY | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER July 20, 2007 NEWPORT - Eric Rose knows a thing or two about tourism and marketing. Before becoming executive director of the Newport Aquarium in early 2005, he worked in various capacities at the Walt Disney Cos. and at Sea World in Orlando, Fla. So when Rose gets excited about a tourism initiative, it's worth listening. And Rose is excited about the Cincinnati USA Regional Tourism Network and its Connect Card program. It's not that the Connect Cards have, on their own, brought tens of thousands of people to the Tri-State. Out-of-town visitors can buy the cards to get better rates at bundled attractions over several days, and the RTN is selling them on its Web site. But the agency is still tweaking the program and seeing what works, and this is, after all, only the second summer they've been in place. What Rose sees is the potential. He's been working with the RTN on the Connect Card program from the start. And while the cards have brought out-of-town visitors to the aquarium, Rose is convinced they can help trigger much more tourism than they have so far.
August 3, 200717 yr Convention resuscitation After nearly a decade stuck in idle, visitors bureau set to go full-throttle BY LUCY MAY | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER August 3, 2007 DOWNTOWN - As a Midwestern destination, Cincinnati was unbeatable in the mid-1980s and early 1990s. Downtown was hopping. The convention center had been expanded. And meeting planners steered hundreds of conventions and millions of dollars in spending to the region. By the late 1990s, though, all that had changed. The convention center needed to expand again, and vacant department store buildings left big, empty shells downtown. In just one year, from 1997 to 1998, the city lost 80,000 hotel room nights. And that was before 2001, when the Comair pilots strike, Cincinnati's racial strife and the terror attacks of 9/11 slammed the local industry. "As a community, we dug a hole for ourselves," said Dan Lincoln, who 15 months ago became CEO of the Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We shifted into neutral." Now, he said, it's time to get back in the game. Thanks to an infusion of $880,000 in extra hotel tax revenue, the convention and visitors bureau is marketing the region aggressively for the first time in seven years. At the heart of the campaign are the Duke Energy Center, which reopened a year ago after a $135 million expansion and renovation, and the $45 million makeover of Fountain Square.
August 14, 200717 yr What a bunch of DB's...let it go COAST. I hate how hard some people work to maintain the status quo. God forbid we look to continue to reinvest our money into the region. Tax money distribution challenged Critics say film commission's not entitled to $75,000 BY JESSICA BROWN | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER August 14, 2007 CINCINNATI - Hamilton County and the city of Cincinnati, among others, are being sued for allowing $75,000 in hotel-motel tax surplus to be given to the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Film Commission. Mark Miller of Hyde Park and state Rep. Thomas Brinkman Jr., R-Mount Lookout, allege the move violates Ohio law. They filed the lawsuit Aug. 9 in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. Both are affiliated with the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes, but filed the suit as county taxpayers, rather than on behalf of that group. They say law allows the money be spent only on construction, promotion or operation of a convention center or to pay off the convention center's debt. The film commission is a nonprofit organization that markets Greater Cincinnati to makers of movies, commercials, music videos and other productions. "I do not believe, after several readings of the law, that the film commission fits the tourism and promotion aspect" of the law, Brinkman said. "This is another example of our county commissioners wasting money."
September 28, 200717 yr State officials ready to rally local tourism BY LUCY MAY | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER September 28, 2007 CINCINNATI - Ohio state tourism officials are coming to town Oct. 12 to figure out how they can help draw more visitors to the Tri-State. State Tourism Director Amir Eylon and Assistant State Tourism Director Alicia Reece will be here for an Ohio Tourism Stakeholder Meeting at the Cincinnati Museum Center. The goal is to let local tourism industry representatives know that the state's tourism department wants to partner with local attractions and event organizers to boost tourism marketing efforts, Reece said. "Cincinnati has some dynamic product, and over the last few years we've invested a lot in the infrastructure there," she said. "Our major role is to be a partner." Local tourism and hospitality industry officials say they welcome the help. "With some of the reorganization and refocusing of missions that's happened here over the last couple of years, the relationship with the state of Ohio is one of the pieces that we have to figure out," said Julie Calvert, vice president of marketing for the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau. The launch of the Cincinnati USA Regional Tourism Network occurred during the final years of the Taft administration, and the state didn't have a tourism director for awhile.
January 4, 200817 yr Convention and visitors bureau makes room night goal January 4, 2008 | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER CINCINNATI - The Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau said Friday that it ended 2007 on a high note. The bureau said in an e-mail that it topped its annual room night goal at 101 percent, a 7.6 percent jump over 2006. Bureau President Dan Lincoln estimated that attendees at the future booked events will spend more than $52 million downtown and throughout the region. The bureau will provide more details at its annual meeting, to take place Feb. 27, at 7:30 a.m., at Duke Energy Center downtown.
January 5, 200817 yr Does anyone thing the convention center has been a success since the expansion? The addition attendence of 50-70k seems very low for how much what was paid for this expansion.
January 5, 200817 yr I'm not real sure...that is a very tough call to make. There has been a correlation between the opening of the expanding convention center and improved tourism numbers though. Obviously the convention center is playing some role in that improvement, but how much can be attributed to the expansion is hard to tell. I seem to think that leadership with Cincinnati USA has improved and the organization is working much better now with drawing people to the region for a wide variety of things.
January 14, 200817 yr Boat show marks 50th year BY ALEXANDER COOLIDGE | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER January 14, 2008 DOWNTOWN - The Cincinnati Travel, Sports & Boat Show marks its 50th anniversary this year, so to celebrate, organizers are offering free admission to Friday's opening day. The event is the largest and longest running annual show at the Duke Energy Center downtown, organizers say. This year's show runs Friday through Jan. 27 and will feature more than 700 displays and exhibits. "I'm just glad we made it this far - it's exciting," said Chip Hart, head of Hart Productions which produces the show first staged by his father, Bob Hart Jr. While area boat registrations have ebbed in recent years, Hart said strong attendance at the Toledo boat show earlier this month is creating optimism among local dealers. The event normally attracts 65,000 to 70,000 each year and while some sales are made, most often the show leads customers to visit a dealership later.
February 1, 200817 yr Agency to sell tourists on Cincy's 'five seasons of fun' For RTN, it's not just about big weekends anymore BY LUCY MAY | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER February 1, 2008 CINCINNATI - The agency charged with bringing more tourists and out-of-town dollars to the region will be trying a new approach in 2008. The Cincinnati USA Regional Tourism Network will broaden its efforts to a more seasonal approach instead of focusing solely on the so-called Fusion Weekends that have been its trademark. RTN President Linda Antus said the approach is an effort to show potential visitors that there's plenty to do in Cincinnati all year long rather than focusing strictly on a critical mass of events on certain weekends throughout the year. While the Fusion Weekends - when thousands converge on the region for events such as Macy's Music Festival - still will be highlighted, the marketing will make clear those aren't the only times it's worth visiting, she said. "We want to give people more reasons over more seasons to come visit us," Antus said. "We are going to adopt the position that we have five seasons of fun - winter, spring, summer, fall and holiday." The new approach is just one of the changes Antus hopes will bring even better return on marketing dollars. The RTN also is revamping its Web site, www.cincinnatiusa.com, to make it more vibrant and easier for visitors to book rooms directly online. The new look is scheduled to launch March 31.
February 28, 200817 yr Cincinnati CVB sees jump in conventions, room nights for '08 Business Courier of Cincinnati Wednesday, February 27, 2008 - 11:39 AM EST The Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau is aiming for double-digit growth in hotel room nights for 2008 after an 8 percent increase in room nights for this past year. The bureau finished 2007 with signed contracts representing 176,061 total room nights, just over its annual goal of 175,000 for an 8 percent increase over 2006 results. The bureau reported that 160 definite convention bookings were confirmed for future years, representing $52 million in economic impact for the region. That also is an 8 percent increase over 2006 figures, and it represents the fourth consecutive year the bureau has exceeded its sales goal and booked more room nights than the previous year. Bureau President and CEO Dan Lincoln reviewed the 2007 results for a record turnout of more than 400 civic and business leaders gathered in the Grand Ballroom of the Duke Energy Center Wednesday morning.
February 28, 200817 yr I've got to think that the weak dollar and high gas prices has to be good tourism and convention business in Cincinnati. It makes trips to Europe friggin expensive and people aren't as willing to go as far for a meeting. It might also allow the city to get conventions with Euro participation with the direct flights and a dirt cheap dollar.
February 29, 200817 yr Unusualfire: "Does anyone think the convention center has been a success since the expansion? The addition attendence of 50-70k seems very low for how much what was paid for this expansion." I think some of the people in charge of hyping the convention center expansion / renovation have made it sound like a little more than what it really is. They keep referring to 750,000 sq. feet. I don't know what that all includes. Even counting the ballrooms, meeting rooms and hallways, its hard to believe it is that large. Maybe they are counting the kitchen, the bathrooms and the loading docks as well. Most convention centers are listed in terms of the total square footage in the primary, main exhibit halls. Cincinnati's exhibit hall space was 163,000 sq. feet prior to the expansion and is now 199,000. They only increased their prime exhibit hall space by 36,000 sq. feet. Maybe they were counting the roof. (Seriously, I don't know how they come up with 750,000 sq. feet.) They did add a large, major ballroom and upgraded the kitchen and hallway areas - and added much new technology throughout - hence the $135 M price. (Actually, I thought it cost more than that - but - that's what it says in the earlier posted article --- ) Anyway -- By saying the center has 750,000 sq. feet - people might think it is now larger than Columbus (around 400,000 sq. feet) and Indianapolis (410,000 sq. feet) and hence should be getting as many (or more) conventioneers as those cities. In reality it is only half the size and has only increased its primary exhibition space by about 23%. It is difficult with a center that size to attract the larger conventions (at least 15,000 attendees) and pretty much impossible to get the really good sized ones (in the 25,000 - 50,000 range and above.) When you start seeing those types of really large conventions, you begin to see the huge impact on the downtown area and the demand growing for many more restaurants and night-clubs as a result. Some of the posts talk about things like the boat show and the travel and sports shows, which draw 40,000 - 50,000 people - of course those are mostly local folks who walk into the center for a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday and don't stay in the hotels. They may get a bit to eat while the'yre downtown, but obviously, they don't impact the city like out of town conventioneers. Indpls currently gets about a dozen conventions each year in the 15,000 - 55,000 person range. When the next expansion is complete in 2010, the exhibit space at the Indy Conv. center will total 747,000 sq. feet. This is just in the primary exhibit halls (including 180,000 sq. feet in the connected Lucas Oil Stadium). It will be about 375% larger than what is in Cincinnati. Indy is already linking up many new 30,000+ attendee conventions for 2010 and beyond. They are projected to get another 20 - 25 15,000+ person conventions annually after 2010. Indy's room night numbers related to convention attendees is currently about 500,000 annually and is projected to go up to around 700,000 annually with the new expansion. (That doesn't include other visitors in town for other major events like the Final Four, The Indy 500 or the Brickyard 400.) Bottom line, Cincy's expansion - while it improved the space - did not do enough to really allow for significant increases in the number of convention attendees. They'll be able to get the occassional 5,000 - 10,000 person conventions each year but will typically be landing mostly the 1,000 - 3,000 person events. I think the 50,000 - 70,000 person increase that was discussed probably had a little to do with the expanded size and also a little to do with the publicity generated from being a "new" and "expanded" facility. It will be hard to continue getting increases or even maintaining the numbers from the first year(s) once the novelty of the newness wears off. Milwaukee ran into this same problem a few years after its "new" (1999) convention center facility opened. By the way, their Conv Center is almost exactly the same size as Cincy's at about 200,000 sq. feet.
February 29, 200817 yr Easy there Captain Indy... By some rough counts I add up around 333,000sf of space at the Cincy convention center. They do not count hallways or whatever else with that number...I too am a little confused over the 750,000sf of space. I'm not real sure where that comes from. http://www.duke-energycenter.com/700/FloorPlans&CapacityChart.asp While Indy and Cbus both do conventions well (I would say Indy more so than Cbus) I would not say they are necessarily worth the costs involved. Sure they pump lots of out of town money into local coffers, but these are white elephants in center cities, take up tons of land, and kill off every/any kind of street-life around them (especially in Indy). I don't think that the Cincy officials are trying to compete for conventions with the likes of places like Indy, Chicago, Cbus, etc...those convention centers are huge and Cincy can clearly not match up square-footage wise. But what Cincy can do is create a great environment in the space it has and put a strong hold on their niche of the convention market. Get the biggest ones you can, and consistently fill the place...that is really the ultimate goal I think. Cincy is never going to be able to significantly expand its convention center unless it builds new somewhere else completely (which I don't see happening in our lifetimes). Kudos to the Cincy CVB officials...keep up the good work.
February 29, 200817 yr While Indy and Cbus both do conventions well (I would say Indy more so than Cbus) I would not say they are necessarily worth the costs involved. Sure they pump lots of out of town money into local coffers, but these are white elephants in center cities, take up tons of land, and kill off every/any kind of street-life around them (especially in Indy). Look, we all know Cincinnati would kill to have the convention center size of Indianapolis or Columbus (every city wants large convention centers; and Cleveland is looking for expansion as well) and Columbus and Indianapolis are examples for which convention space does NOT "kill" the streetlife around them. Columbus built the Arena District, a refurbished Short North, and a (now) coming to life CBD thanks to the traffic the convention center is bringing in (for current example, the Arnold Classic is pumping $39 million into the downtown core and surrounding area this weekend). Indianapolis took a different approach and created sub-neighborhoods around it (the Canal District) along with a successful mall (Circle Centre). Without these conventions, you bet your bottom $$$ that Columbus and Indianapolis' downtown "renaissances" would be much slower. But I do agree that Cincinnati should try to go after conventions and fill up the place as much as possible for what space they have. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 29, 200817 yr The only way Cincy would have had a massive convention center is if the Bengals had acceded to a domed stadium that could be connected to the Convention Center, which was one of the ideas batted around 15 years ago. I'll keep the basin intact and let Indy have the conventions.
February 29, 200817 yr The basin hasn't been intact since the 40's. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 1, 200817 yr since i 75 You got it. (gracias Jake for the photo) "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 1, 200817 yr Point taken, however expanding in the 1990s or 2000s far beyond it's current size would sent Cincinnati in Philly-type direction where the whole core of city is remade just for out-of-towners. I'll pass. While the density was beautiful, the actual housing in most of those neighborhoods especially toward the bottom of the picture was notoriously bad, usually considered some of the worst in the country. 75 was not the best solution, but we think it is hard to get OTR back on its feet, getting the West End in decent shape would have been rough too. If we were lucky it would look like South Philly with the neighborhoods mostly intact but not especially attractive, if we were unlucky it would have ended up looking like it does today.
March 1, 200817 yr Point taken, however expanding in the 1990s or 2000s far beyond it's current size would sent Cincinnati in Philly-type direction where the whole core of city is remade just for out-of-towners. I'll pass. Philadelphia's Center City should be a great model for downtown Cincinnati and the area is certainly not made for just "out-of-towners." That's just silly. While the density was beautiful, the actual housing in most of those neighborhoods especially toward the bottom of the picture was notoriously bad, usually considered some of the worst in the country. 75 was not the best solution, but we think it is hard to get OTR back on its feet, getting the West End in decent shape would have been rough too. I'd have much rather have the problem of fixing the West End than demolishing it to create a Frisch's Big Boy, a White Castle, and light-industrial warehouses. If we were lucky it would look like South Philly with the neighborhoods mostly intact but not especially attractive, if we were unlucky it would have ended up looking like it does today. If we were lucky, it'd have been more like Boston's South End than South Philly. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 1, 200817 yr I'll hold to argument that particularly with this most recent expansion, the convention center is denuding valuable space in the center of Center City. I'd also add that Center City is substantially larger than downtown Cincinnati and that a convention of similar size would be far more out of place in Cincinnati than it is even in Philly. I'd don't disagree with either of the last two points.
March 1, 200817 yr Well, I agree the convention center is certainly in the "wrong" part of downtown and perhaps should've been built over I-75 (as it would've been appropriate that I-75 destroyed the surrounding neighorhood) but I still standby Cincinnati would (and it should) gain space for the convention center. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 1, 200817 yr Look, we all know Cincinnati would kill to have the convention center size of Indianapolis or Columbus (every city wants large convention centers; and Cleveland is looking for expansion as well) and Columbus and Indianapolis are examples for which convention space does NOT "kill" the streetlife around them. Columbus built the Arena District, a refurbished Short North, and a (now) coming to life CBD thanks to the traffic the convention center is bringing in (for current example, the Arnold Classic is pumping $39 million into the downtown core and surrounding area this weekend). Indianapolis took a different approach and created sub-neighborhoods around it (the Canal District) along with a successful mall (Circle Centre). Without these conventions, you bet your bottom $$$ that Columbus and Indianapolis' downtown "renaissances" would be much slower. Sure, why wouldn't Cincinnati want a convention center of that size...it would be nice. But I don't think a convention center, of that size, is worth the demolition of surrounding Downtown Cincinnati blocks and the massive cost to span the interstate. You could potentially do something out on Broadway Commons, but I think that would be a less desirable location as many of the hotels are already located where they are as a result of the convention center being where it is. I personally think that Indy is built entirely for the tourist and lacks the all important local identity that you get in other cities. Cbus has done a better job, but I would attribute the success in those areas to other aspects than the convention center. It has helped, but I think other things have helped with that more.
March 1, 200817 yr Well, I'm having a hard time understanding what buildings it would destroy as the only logical choice is to put it over I-75 as the original plan was (ala Kansas City). "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 3, 200817 yr It is surrounded by buildings to the East, North, and South. To the West is I-75 and was the identified area for expansion...but I feel that is a pipe dream to say the least. How can you really plan for an expansion over something that is in its own plans for expansion/rerouting. I just don't see how it's possible. Additionaly, it brings up the point I made about the benefits not outweighing the costs to expand in such a way.
March 4, 200817 yr The city would be hard-pressed to let them demolish a hotel, a hideous parking garage (though it'd be nice!), and some historic buildings vs. building it over the highway, signage and all. But as you said, when I-75's plans get finalized, then expand the center. But the bottom line is, if Cincinnati wants to attract more events, it needs a larger center. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 4, 200817 yr The city would be hard-pressed to let them demolish a hotel, a hideous parking garage (though it'd be nice!), and some historic buildings vs. building it over the highway, signage and all. But as you said, when I-75's plans get finalized, then expand the center. But the bottom line is, if Cincinnati wants to attract more events, it needs a larger center. Agreed...and I accept your apology.
March 5, 200817 yr Apology? The hell? I accept your agree. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 17, 200817 yr Team Cincinnati records for tourism promotion Published on Monday Mar 17, 2008 The winner of television's "Clash of Choirs" is trying to help create a buzz for Cincinnati tourism. Team Cincinnati has recorded a music and video recording of its a cappella rendition of "Flight of the Bumblebee." The Cincinnati Regional Tourism Network plans to use the recording for radio promotions and will place the video on its Web site. The song will be featured in Cincinnati USA's seasonal marketing campaign, which will be released on the Cincinnati Reds' Opening Day, March 31. The 20-member choir put together by Cincinnati native Nick Lachey also will sing "God Bless America" before the Reds' game.
March 18, 200817 yr Equestrian games to spark business BY LISA BERNARD-KUHN | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER March 18, 2008 FLORENCE – It’s more than two years away, but already local business leaders are preparing for the 2010 World Equestrian Games, which are expected to draw more than 600,000 spectators to Northern Kentucky. Slated to be held at the 1,200 acre Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington from Sept. 25 through Oct. 15 the games – which have been called the largest sporting event ever to be held in Kentucky – are anticipated to have a more than $150 million impact on the Northern Kentucky economy, according to event organizers. This morning the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce hosted retired U.S. Army Col. Walter Herd, the director of special projects for the US Equestrian Federation which among the groups organizing the 16-day games. Herd spoke to nearly 150 local business leaders at Turfway Park in Florence about the anticipated impact they can expect when the crowds begin to arrive.
April 9, 200817 yr Nanotech conference set First time statewide session meets here BY MIKE BOYER | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER April 9, 2008 MASON - The big potential from manipulating materials at their molecular level will be the focus of a state-wide conference here at the Great Wolf Lodge starting today. Some 400 researchers, engineers and business executives are expected for the fourth annual Ohio Nanotechnology Summit being held in the Cincinnati area for the first time. The focus of the three-day event, through workshops, discussions and networking activities, is on how to commercialize research by sharing case studies and tapping into available funding. Nanotechnology is a broad term used to describe making materials stronger, lighter and more functional by manipulating them at their smallest, molecular level. It has been forecast to create a $3 trillion in new products worldwide by 2015.
April 16, 200817 yr Quote by Uncle Rando: "While Indy and Cbus both do conventions well (I would say Indy more so than Cbus) I would not say they are necessarily worth the costs involved. Sure they pump lots of out of town money into local coffers, but these are white elephants in center cities, take up tons of land, and kill off every/any kind of street-life around them (especially in Indy)." Just had to say I completely disagree with your thoughts. You obviously have not been around when Indy is hosting a typical 25,000 - 50,000 person convention. "...kill off every/any kind of street life around them.." ? You're crazy. During these huge conventions, the sidewalks are packed all day long, the restaurants all have lines out into the street, Circle Centre is packed, the bars are busy all night long. With the addition of another 350,000 sq. feet of convention space, the number of 25,000+ person conventions will grow from about 15 per year to about 30 - 35. The additional space will also allow the many 5,000 - 15,000 person conventions to be held back to back, with one going on in half the convention center while the next is being set up in the other half. Indy's convention and visitor business is very complex, with events at the convention center, at the downtown sports venues, the downtown cultural facilities (theaters, museums, parks, etc.), the State Fairgrounds (for local boat shows, home shows, RV shows, etc) and at the Indy 500 track all working together to attract conventioneers, pro sports fans, college sports fans, auto racing fans and many other visitors to fill the hotels, restaurants and bars throughout downtown and the rest of the city. Because our football stadium is used for so many events (conventions, concerts, NCAA basketball games, h.s. sports, auto shows, h.s. national marching band championships, drum corps world championships, moto-cross races - and possibly the 2012 Super Bowl) along with the 10, 11 or 12 annual Colts games, the costs for the stadium and the convention center expansion are able to be shared more effectively throughout the region because of the many benefits that come in to the city and state through the high level of expenditures from all of these visitors using the facility. I would strongly argue that Indy's expenditures on its football stadium and convention center expansion have a much better benefit to cost ratio than Cincinnati's spending on its football stadium and its convention center expansion. (And I would also say that I think Indy's investments in its sports and convention facilities have overall been good fiscal decisions, due to the huge amounts of visitor spending that comes into town because of the facilities.) Cincinnati pretty much only uses its football stadium for home NFL games (which attract minimal hotel night stays because mostly locals attend) - yes I know there are two or three other events per year (jazz festival, college and/or h.s. football games), but overall - the stadium doesn't bring in many people who stay at hotels. (And you probably don't want me to even begin to bring up the incredible waste of prime downtown property that is taken up by the Bengals' practice fields next to the stadium. How many acres of green astro turf is just sitting there remaining undeveloped and bringing little if any money into the local tax roles? Talk about a waste of prime downtown property.) The Cincinnati convention center expanded by 36,000 sq. feet - at a cost of $200,000,000! When you refer to convention centers being white elephants in downtown - it may be true for Cincinnati, but it is not true for Indianapolis. You say that Indy's downtown has focused on attracting out of town people. It does do that very well - and I would say has been a successful strategy, looking at the number of out of town visitors - but the number of local visitors to downtown is huge also. Recent polls have indicated that during an average month, approximately 72% of Marion County residents visit downtown Indy. Their opinions of downtown are pretty favorable as well. There are good crowds downtown most evenings and it usually is packed on weekends. The wholesale district covers 15 sq. blocks between the Convention center, Conseco Fieldhouse, Market Street (Monument Circle) and South Street. The area has wonderful local flavor (Union Station, Monument Circle, Indiana Repertory Theater, Circle Theater, State Capitol Building, City Market, St. Elmo Steak House, Slippery Noodle Inn, Canterbury Hotel, Omni Hotel, Ike & Jonesy's, dozens of historic buildings, etc. - all mixed in with the crowd of newer buildings, restaurants, clubs, etc. along S. Meridian, Illinois and Pennsylvania Streets. Mass Avenue with its mile long stretch filled with many restaurants, theaters, galleries, bars, etc is busy too most nights, along with other great downtown areas like the canal / White River State Park, Fountain Square (yea, we've got one too) the growing E. Market / S. Lockerbie neighborhood, Indiana Avenue, and more. All of those places have great local flavor. I'll admit that the block of Illinois Street, between Washington St. and Maryland St. is pretty ugly - with the 20 story brick wall of the Hyatt on the west side of the street across from the bland architecture on that block of Circle Centre, with the first floor chains of Palamino, Ruth's Chris and PF Chang's lining the eastern sidewalk. It may not look real great right there, but it definitely is very busy - and the rest of downtown is filled with many beautiful buildings, great history and plenty of local culture. Indy has done a fantastic job of steadily building its convention complex, through three expansions over the past 25 years. Indy's current expansion (just the convention center part) is 275,000 sq. ft. As you obviously know, that is well beyond the total size of Cincy's entire center. I laugh when I read all the articles you post about the "big" conventions Cincy is attracting now, with its "expanded" (by 36,000 feet) center. The articles talking about economic impacts of $3.5 million for the NAACP convention make me roll my eyes. When Indy hosts the FFA Convention, the economic impact is about $30 million. When we host the Final Four b-ball tournament, the impact is $40-50 million. The Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 each bring in around $200 million! Cincy has a long way to go before it catches up to Indy in convention and visitor business. It seems from your posts that you do not think the convention industry is a very smart business for Cincy to invest in - and you most likely are right. There are so many cities with convention centers in the 150,000 - 250,000 sq. ft range, all trying to land the 5,000 - 10,000 person conventions - and most are struggling. That is because those conventions in that size range and the many smaller ones that cities like Cincinnati are trying to attract, aren't big enough to have much of an economic impact. Only the cities that have gotten ahead of the game by building the 700,000 sq. foot and larger facilties are able to see the benefits of the big convention industry. Since there are only about 20 cities that have large enough convention facilities to compete for the biggest shows, most are able to win enough of those large events to do pretty decently. Indy is in an even better position than many of those other 19 cities, because: our hotels are more affordable than most, yet are still very nice; because there are so many hotels within easy walking distance (by 2011, approximately 8,000 rooms within 5 blocks); and because there are so many restaurants, museums, bars, parks, retail facilties, etc. within a small area - it makes for a very attractive package. That's my blurb about Indy's convention facilities. You might want to think a little longer before you make a statement like "Indy's convention business kills street traffic". I may have to let loose with another novel to try and explain more of my thoughts on this topic. Thanks for reading. - "Captain Indy" :)
April 16, 200817 yr While I agree with you on most of your points, and I do feel that Indy has done an amazing job with their downtown and the convention business, this little bit stuck out as being odd seeing that it doesn't really have anything to do with the convention center: Indy has done a fantastic job of steadily building its convention complex, through three expansions over the past 25 years. Indy's current expansion (just the convention center part) is 275,000 sq. ft. As you obviously know, that is well beyond the total size of Cincy's entire center. I laugh when I read all the articles you post about the "big" conventions Cincy is attracting now, with its "expanded" (by 36,000 feet) center. The articles talking about economic impacts of $3.5 million for the NAACP convention make me roll my eyes. When Indy hosts the FFA Convention, the economic impact is about $30 million. When we host the Final Four b-ball tournament, the impact is $40-50 million. The Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 each bring in around $200 million! Sporting events are huge draws for the city, and Cincinnati probably draws in as much money from sports as Indy. We have the Bengals that sell out every game, the Reds that go all summer and have a lot of games (Indy doesn't even have an MLB team...), UC and XU basketball which are both pretty big draws and bring visiting fans into town, the Kentucky Speedway, ATP tennis tourney (one of the required stops to qualify for the Open, soon to be required for the women too), and recently UC football which has been increasing its attendence to near sell out levels of late. I think Cincy is pretty well covered when it comes to the sports world. Certainly as much as Indy...
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