'Boondoggle' would block view

Heritage group says convention centre bad investment
By BILL POWER Business Reporter

A GROUP FIGHTING to protect the view from Citadel Hill wants the province to abandon a proposed $100-million investment in a replacement for the World Trade and Convention Centre.
"It’s like investing in a race horse that is past its prime," said Phil Pacey on Thursday at a news conference organized by the Coalition to Save the View.

The coalition — comprised of a mix of groups opposed to the development intended for the former Chronicle Herald site downtown — used the event to release data showing the North American convention industry has been in a state of decline since the end of the 1990s.

Officials in the convention industry in Halifax disputed the numbers later.

Coalition members used graphs to back up their comments about a decline in the industry and to question the wisdom of the province’s commitment to the Halifax project.

They said they are very skeptical about numbers provided by promoters of a replacement convention centre and called on the provincial government to conduct its own objective review.

"The decision makers should not rely on flawed and inaccurate information," said coalition member Peter Delefes.

Coalition member Judy Haiven said that by investing $100 million in the convention centre portion of the development, the province would be allowing a couple of highrise towers to be built at the former Herald site.
"It’s very disturbing that the provincial government has not looked at the economic boondoggle the convention centre industry has become," she said.

Haiven provided examples of cities that continued to experience declines in convention attendance after building new convention centres, including Baltimore and Indianapolis in the United States and Nanaimo in British Columbia.

The coalition has argued for months against the towers, insisting that they would block the panoramic view of Halifax Harbour offered from the fortress.

Much of the information presented at the news conference came from consultations with Heywood Sanders at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is considered an expert in the convention industry.

One graph prepared by the professor showed that while convention centre exhibit space grew by 11 per cent from 1998 to 2008, attendance at the 50 top Canadian events declined by 200,000, or 32 per cent.

Coalition members said they are upset about the way the provincial investment in the convention centre would allow the developer to proceed with the project, add a couple of highrise towers and reduce a portion of Grafton Street to an enclosed pedestrian walkway.

Questions about the validity of the coalition’s numbers and its arguments against investing in a convention centre were raised by Jeff Ransome, president of the Hotel Association of Nova Scotia.

"The numbers are down in Halifax because we lack a modern complex to compete within an industry that is looking for more space," he said.

"Size and other limitations have reduced us to a B-level convention market in the eyes of meeting planners.
This has resulted in the loss of approximately 70 major conferences in the last three years alone."
Ransome also questioned why a group with such an obvious bias against the entire development was suddenly so vocal about the convention industry.

"It is ridiculous to suggest that, because some convention centres in some markets are having trouble, we should abandon the industry here."

He said this was like saying the city should abandon the entire shipping industry "if there is one leaky boat somewhere out there on the ocean."

Scott Ferguson, president and CEO of Trade Centre Ltd., said some numbers used by the coalition focus on an entirely different segment of the market and relate to some of the biggest trade show venues in the world, such as the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

"Over the past 10 years, the trade centre in Halifax has generated a billion dollars for the provincial economy," he said.

( bpower@herald.ca)

‘It’s like investing in a race horse that is past its prime.’
Phil Pacey, Coalition to Save the View

© 2008 The Halifax Herald Limited