The Rhode Island Convention Center generated more than $200 million in revenue, taxes and wages last year, and has been a major catalyst for the revitalization of downtown Providence, according to a report issued last week by the Convention Center Authority. With an annual state subsidy of some $20 million, the economic impact of the facility has often been debated.
The Convention Center includes the convention center building, the 364-room Westin Hotel and adjoining 2,400 space-parking garage.
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According to the report by Louis Berger & Associates of East Orange, NJ, which covered the fiscal year ending in July, the Convention Center complex was responsible for $56 million in direct economic impact associated with operational spending, off-site spending by visitors, spending in the city of Providence, and new money from out of state residents or firms.
The complex generated $10 million in wages to 964 Rhode Island resident employees, $2.9 million in state taxes and fees, and $900,000 in fees to the city of Providence in lieu of taxes.
Berger & Associates, in outlining indirect and induced economic impacts, said the complex was responsible for $105 million total sales by industries throughout the state, $33 million in earnings by employees of those industries, $8.6 million in state tax revenues, and 3,200 total jobs inside and outside the complex.
“What’s really exciting about this report is that for the first time we have a clearer understanding of what the Convention Center Complex means in economic terms to the Rhode Island companies that do business with the complex, event organizers and people who attend events at the complex,” said James S. Bennett, chairman of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority.
Besides spending directly associated with the complex, the report maintains that the Convention Center Complex has been instrumental in the downtown Providence revitalization.
“the Complex also serves as a key activity generator, responsible in part, for supporting and encouraging nearly $1 billion in public and private investment in the revitalization of the state capital’s downtown,” the report says.
It also suggests that out of town visitors generated by the Complex will “fuel development of millions of dollars in new hotel space.”
Here are some of the report’s other findings:
The Convention Center generated over $8 million in net revenue in fiscal year 1999, more than $1.4 million ahead of the previous year and significantly more than budget projections. Much of the revenue, the report said, is from food and beverage and parking revenue, with expenses from those areas accounting for only 42 percent of the total expenses. The Convention Center expenses were double its revenues, leaving that portion alone with a $2.4 million loss. However, overall, the Convention Center generated a positive net income of $1.5 million, up 93 percent over the previous fiscal year.
The Westin Hotel generated more than $22 million in net revenue, up 11 percent over the previous fiscal year.
In calendar year 1999 there were more than 497,000 room nights available in Providence, with the city enjoying an 84 percent occupancy rate. The Westin accounted for 25 percent (110,656) of all available room nights and also enjoyed an 84 percent occupancy rate.
The Convention Center Complex – the convention center and Westin – attracted more than 1,200 events in the fiscal year: 240 of those were conventions, trade shows, or meeting events at the Convention Center; 1,040 smaller meetings were held at the Westin. The average event, the report said, lasted two days.
Some 400,00 people attended Convention Center events, and 90,000 attended Westin events, along with 110,000 attendee companions, event organizers, and exhibitors.
