building and expanding convention centers appears to be an obsession with politicians. indeed, billions of dollars are being spent to build or expand convention centers in numerous cities across the united states. given that trade show attendance across the country has been steadily declining, how do politicians justify these enormous investments? politicians frequently rely on consultants who produce studies that purport to show a favorable economic inpact on the area of area of a new convention center.
these economic impact studies are bogus in two respects. first, a large portion of the so-called favorable economic impact would be realized by a city even if it did not invest in a new or expanded convention center. for example, portland, oregon, voters overwhelmingly opposed spending 82 million to expand their city's convention center. nonetheless, local politicians proceeded with the project. after completing the expansion, more than 70% of the people spending money at trade shows in portland were from the portland area. how much of the money spent by these locals would have been spent in portland anyway if the convention center had not veen expanded? we don't know, but in all likelihood much of thos money would have been spent at the zoo, the art museum, the theater, local restaurants, and so on. this portion of the "favorable" economic inpact cited by consultants and used by politicians to justify expanding convention centers should be ignored. second, bexause the supply of convention centers throughout the unitex states substantially exceeds demand, convention centers must offer substantial economic incentives, such as waiving rental fees, to attract trade shows, the cost of these concessions, although often excluded from consultants' projections, further erodes the genuine economic viability of building or expanding a convention center.