More Convention Space Could Bring Big Bucks

Convention centers can be a boon for a city’s economy, bringing in thousands of people and millions of dollars from out of town each year.

A lot of work goes into getting an organization like the National Federation of Paralegal Associations to choose Northwest Arkansas over other MSAs. The goal of those working in the area’s convention and visitors bureaus is to sell the region as an attractive location.

Some of these insiders said that while the region is a desirable location with a built-in draw for big meetings, it lacks enough sizable locations to book all the potential events that might come to the area. Others disagreed with that.

Calculating the exact number of out-of-towners brought in by conferences can be difficult, several event organizers said.

A big factor event and conference organizers look for in a potential venue is whether the whole convention can fit under one roof, said Allyson Twiggs, director of the Fayetteville Visitor’s Bureau.

That usually means a space must not only have a big room that can accommodate the whole group, it must also have plenty of smaller breakout rooms for meetings, discussions and workshops.

At 78,000-SF, the biggest and perhaps the busiest conference center in Northwest Arkansas is the John Q. Hammons Convention Center, which adjoins the Embassy Suites hotel in Rogers.

The hotel has another 40,000 SF of convention space as well, and will host the paralegals conference in October.

This summer, the Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce will participate in a study to determine the economic impact of visitors, said Tom Galyon, executive director of the Rogers CVB. For now, the chamber and the Rogers A&P are using the figure of $200 a day as an economic impact multiplier, but Galyon said that amount is only an estimate.

In 2007, conferences at the Rogers facilities brought about 20,000 out of town visitors, said Scott Beal, director of sales for the hotel and convention center.

Based on that figure, multiplied by the $200-a-day estimate, visitors to the Hammons and Embassy Suites centers brought in $4 million in 2007. And that amount reflects visitors staying only one day each.

An environmental conference last year brought in 600 people for three days, a single event that pumped $360,000 into the local economy.

Limited Locations

“There is not really enough convention space in the area, which puts a lot of pressure on John Q. Hammons [convention center] to have every large event,” Beal said.

Scheduling conflicts have sometimes meant event organizers have been forced to look at other metropolitan areas for convention sites because there simply isn’t another location in Northwest Arkansas with similar amenities, Beal said.

And the schedule is filling up fast. Almost every weekend is booked so far for 2008.

“The first seven months of 2009 are jam packed,” he said. “We’re booking into late 2009 and 2010.”

Although it would mean more competition for Embassy Suites and the Hammons Center, the addition of at least one more location for major conferences would be better for all concerned, Beal said.

The more conventions that choose Northwest Arkansas – regardless of the venue – the better for the local economy, because of the overflow in visitor spending across the two counties.

“We don’t want it to always be where we’re the biggest forever, because there needs to be events all over,” he said.

As it stands, though, Embassy Suites and the Hammons Center will be the biggest locations for a while.

The largest conference space in Bentonville is the Clarion Hotel & Convention Center, which has 26,000 SF of meeting space. Doubletree Guest Suites is scheduled to open in March, adding another 10,740 SF of meeting space.

Those two hotels combined will have less space than Embassy Suites alone. But that’s not necessarily a problem.

“I don’t think Bentonville needs a large convention center,” said Blair Cromwell, director of sales for the Bentonville Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Many hotels in Bentonville benefit from their proximity to the Hammons Center, catching a considerable amount of overflow from conventions.

“If we put in another convention center, we’d all be going after the same business,” she said.

In Springdale, the Holiday Inn Northwest Arkansas, with 49,000 SF of meeting space, is no small player in the convention game.

It is the only other conference location in Benton and Washington counties comparable in size to the Embassy Suites. Both hotels are owned by John Q. Hammons Hotels Inc.

In 2007, the hotel hosted dozens of conferences and it books up fast said Aleta Travis, director of sales.

But the region probably isn’t quite ready for another large space, Travis said.

Downtown Destinations

One city that would likely benefit from more convention space is Fayetteville.

Right now, the staff of the Fayetteville Visitor’s Bureau is limited in the size of the conferences it can attract.

“We do a lot of conventions at the Cosmopolitan and the Clarion, and because of that, our convention business is a lot smaller than Embassy Suites,” Twiggs said.

Typically, Fayetteville can accommodate conferences of 250 or fewer guests. The Fayetteville Town Center is primarily used for corporate meetings, social events such as weddings and nonprofit events.

The Town Center can be used for conferences, but there is a hurdle in that the building doesn’t have much breakout space. Event planners often use the UA’s Center for Continuing Education, which is across the downtown Fayetteville square on Center Street, for smaller meeting rooms.

Doing that means a block or two walk.

“That’s all fine and dandy if it’s a beautiful day,” Twiggs said. But if the event takes place during winter, the prospect of being outside might not appeal to organizers.

Another challenge is the limited number of hotel rooms in the downtown area, because the Cosmopolitan is undergoing renovation and the Renaissance Project hasn’t come out of the ground, Twiggs said.

When those two projects are complete, Twiggs and her colleagues will be able to go after larger conventions.

“They won’t be all under one roof, but with 400 rooms downtown, we can go after larger conventions,” she said.

The limited space has meant the CVB has had to get a little more creative, and go after groups that are a bit smaller, but have longer conventions, Twiggs said. Many conferences are hosted at the Cosmopolitan, which has 14,000 SF of space and the Clarion Inn, which has 10,000 SF.

The importance of downtown lodging in attracting events to Fayetteville is a big factor when going after conference business.

“I can’t tell you how many times we have won a bid because of Dickson Street and our beautiful downtown square,” she said.

As attractive as it might be to have an event near a city’s entertainment district, many out of town conference guests are accustomed to taking shuttles and cabs to get around, said T.J. Angeleno, general manager of Courtyard by Marriott in Fayetteville.

“I keep hearing people say we don’t have enough hotel rooms,” he said.

But what the city really needs is a large convention center that is all under one roof, with plenty of breakout space and in-house catering, he said.

“People coming in from out of town are used to commutes,” Angeleno said.