Consultants hired by the City of San Antonio are making the case for expanding the Henry B. González Convention Center, the first phase of a sweeping plan to develop a downtown sports and entertainment district.
Michael Lockwood, senior principal at design firm Populous, and John Kaatz, a principal with conventional planning firm CSL, told City Council Wednesday that they recommend adding 200,000 square feet to the facility’s current 514,000 square feet of meeting, exhibit and ballroom space.
The proposal to expand the convention center comes as the city works to keep up with other municipalities across the state, and nation, that are pouring billions of dollars into meeting facilities in an effort to attract visitors and increase sales tax revenue.
“We’re running, historically, 70%-plus occupancy in many years, and what this suggests to us is we are turning away some really good business,” Kaatz said. “We’re not able to accommodate the convention market in a way that we like.”
A plan to improve the convention center is one piece of “Project Marvel,” the code name for a proposal presented Nov. 21 by the city to develop a sports and entertainment district around a new Spurs basketball arena.
The district could include a new convention center hotel, an improved Alamodome, private development, new infrastructure and a land bridge spanning Interstate 37.
But Walsh told councilmembers the convention center was the priority project and promised a briefing in the coming weeks.
Funding for the convention center expansion would likely come from hotel occupancy tax revenue and the Project Financing Zone, revenue generated from state taxes on hotels and businesses within a three-mile boundary of the convention center.
But the projected cost has not been determined.
“Subsequent phases of the feasibility study will include an estimated range of costs for the proposed project and a forecast of revenues to be utilized to fund the project,” said City Manager Erik Walsh.
The convention center, considered a major economic development and tourism generator in San Antonio’s $21 billion visitor industry, was last renovated in 2017.
Last year, direct spending attributed to the convention center reached $161.5 million, an amount that would begin to level off if the facility is not expanded to keep up with the demand, Kaatz said.
The proposed expansion involves reconfiguring the western end of the convention center which is adjacent to Civic Park in Hemisfair.
The layout is envisioned with flexible spaces to best accommodate the varying requirements of conventions and meetings and efficiently cycle the groups in and out.
“We’re seeing more and more meeting space use, especially in the medical, pharma, tech [industries],” Kaatz said. “So we’re introducing some really incredible flexibility into the meeting and ballroom component.”
San Antonio has turned away at least $700 million in convention business over the last six years because the convention center could not accommodate them, said Marc Anderson, president and CEO of Visit San Antonio.
Those groups included Ace Hardware and the American Academy of Opthalmology, both of which needed more exhibit hall space than the city’s convention center could provide.
District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran asked for the next phase of the study to consider vehicle parking requirements, but also pushed Walsh on a timeline for the study to be completed and the work to begin.
“We have groups that plan five years in advance for their conventions,” she said. “I’d like to communicate to the industry that we’re moving in the right direction and this isn’t just us talking, that we have definite timelines.”
District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez said he thinks the design should include more outdoor space and supports improving the convention center.
“Hospitals, universities — there comes a point where they have to make a reinvestment in upgrading and modernizing the facility in order to stay competitive,” he said. “This building is no different, right?”
But Pelaez also said he was disappointed an out-of-state firm was chosen to redevelop the San Antonio International Airport, so he wants to see local contractors selected to work on the project. “We have the firms here in San Antonio who can execute on this,” he said.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg signaled support for continued work on the convention center plan.
“I do think it needs to be driven by … our achievable level of market share,” he said. “Realistically, we want to be the best, but we also know we need to work within certain constraints here, within our local community, but we shouldn’t diminish our own aspirations about the convention center and the convention business right now.”