County leaders revive conference center discussion

Charles Githler and Andy Dorr have been on a mission for decades to push Sarasota County into the upper echelon of what Dorr said is a $110 billion business­­-meeting industry.

The biggest stumbling block: The county’s largest venue can’t accommodate more than 1,300 people, and Fortune 500 companies want more breakout space for smaller meetings during conferences.

In 2009, the pair envisioned a $100 million facility to host national business conferences on public land — the city nixed that idea in favor of a parking garage and retail space. And that was just one of several proposals that have died due to economic downturns,  a lack of political support to contribute tax dollars toward public-private partnerships, and concerns about investing in what could be a risky long-term venture.

But, as a booming tourism industry bulges and local tax coffers and the political landscape shift in favor of more aggressive economic development, Dorr believes the time is now for the community to consider investing in a mid­­-sized conference center.

With at least three county commissioners (Chairwoman Carolyn Mason, Commissioner Paul Caragiulo and Commissioner Alan Maio) going on the record in support of such a venue this month, and support from the private sector, their vision could be closer to reality than ever.

“We’re an ideal conference location compared to many throughout the country,” said Dorr, who sits on the boards of Visit Sarasota County and the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. “We have wonderful recreation and leisure — hence why we draw 4 million people per year here."

During Visit Sarasota County’s budget discussion at a July 8 meeting, commissioners steered the conversation toward the need for more meeting space, citing limitations from the 20,000 square feet offered by the Hyatt Regency Sarasota, which is the largest venue near downtown.

Visit Sarasota County President Virginia Haley, however, remains a moderate voice in the discussion, urging a cautious approach to such a capital venture.

Haley said her experience has shown successes — and failures — depending on how a community approaches large meeting spaces.

"We really need a major dose of reality as we go through this process," Haley said. "And we have to understand that they’re extremely expensive to build, but that there will be continuing operation expenses to market and sell the space."

With more than 1,000 new hotel rooms coming online in the next few years, proponents assert that a conference center would help maintain demand throughout even the quiet months of the summer.

“You’re looking at nearly doubling the hotel capacity in the north end of our county,” Dorr said. “That's great, but we don’t want a bunch of big empty boxes sitting around."

Haley said she's positive that won't be an issue, as her organization ratchets up marketing for smaller conferences and sports tourism continues to fill local hotels.

‘A ripple effect'

Local business leaders have also thrown their support behind the idea.

"We’ve slowly been rebuilding stronger support, and last year we convened a group of about 10 of us and had some roundtable discussions," Dorr said. "We decided we should again continue to try and build momentum."

The group hopes to attract meetings ranging from 2,500 to 3,500 participants and have been strict about refusing to refer to the development proposed as a convention center — which they said can characterize much larger venues.

Those involved with conference center discussions repeatedly mention the Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology annual meeting, which moved out of Sarasota in 1995. 

“They had to leave because there’s no place big enough,” said former County Commissioner Joe Barbetta.

"I well remember our move from Sarasota to Fort Lauderdale in 1995 — hotels towering over the beaches, where scores of us could stay together in the same building and hundreds of us could be within a few minutes’ drive of the convention center," said ARVO President Jeffrey Boatright in a 2013 message to members. "And what a convention center!"

The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce has included a conference center as an objective within its Sarasota Tomorrow initiative, which is "a collaborative partnership to revitalize Greater Sarasota’s economy, protect the environment and enhance the quality of life for all residents,” according to the chamber’s website.

Haley said she is meeting with County Administrator Tom Harmer this week to mull options for proceeding with a market study to determine viable locations and funding mechanisms for a conference center — or if the community needs one at all.

"The last market analysis was done was in '04," Haley said. "There's nothing about the industry that was going on in '04 that really makes sense now."

One option for funding a study would be for the county to tap into the recent BP setttlement money to repay tourist tax coffers that were mined during the oil spill, Haley said.

Dorr said such a study could cost around $75,000.

“There’s a ripple effect to this,” Dorr said, referring to the businessmen deciding to take vacations or even buy real estate in the area after coming to a conference. “That's going to ring the cash registers of the entire downtown."

Sarasota­­-Bradenton International Airport, which has long competed with Tampa International Airport for carriers and flyers, would be a major beneficiary of a conference center.

“It’s a really big generator of air traffic and something airlines look at very closely,” said SRQ Airport President and CEO Rick Piccolo, who also touted the overall economic benefits of bringing in company meetings. Small conferences of airport officials have resulted in local real estate sales.

“A couple of my colleagues have bought property here for a second home,” Piccolo said.

Finding the sweet spot

Funding mechanisms for building and operating such a venue, viable locations and political will to push for answers to those questions remain hurdles — as they have for 20 years.

Haley and Barbetta said such a venue needs to be as close to downtown and hotels as possible.

In 2004, Fairway Development Group and Suffolk Construction proposed a 600,000-square-foot mixed­­-use development called Fairway Grande, consisting of a 90,000-square-foot luxury conference center, 275­­-room hotel, 35,000 square feet of retail and 700 parking spaces at the corner of Fruitville Road and North Tamiami Trail, which never came to fruition.

And years after that, Mark Famiglio proposed such a facility for the Rosemary District.

In 2009, Githler sought to put a 50,000­­-square-­foot conference center, a 280­-room Embassy Suites hotel and a six-­­story parking garage at the corner of Palm Avenue and Main Street. Ultimately the city chose to build a parking lot on the site without a private partner.

Most recently, a group that included venture capital firm Seven Holdings proposed 60,000 square feet of conference space as part of Sarasota Bayfront Now, which sought to build out the area around the Van Wezel. The city of Sarasota rejected the plans.

Although Dorr said a local conference center with 80 meetings per year could generate a $60 million economic impact, it could require $500,000 to $1 million in public funding per year for operations. That doesn’t include the potential need for a public capital investment. 

“I think that’s a win all day long,” Dorr said.

Barbetta said bed taxes could be tapped to fund a bond to cover a portion of the cost of a facility.

"I think with the airport’s cooperation and the tourist tax on the rise, you could bond it out for $10, $15 or $20 million and sit down with a private developer for the rest,” Barbetta said.

Dorr said he could see the venue operate under a special taxing authority, such as the Tampa Convention Center or the Bradenton Area Convention Center. The former features 200,000 square feet of exhibit space while the latter's largest room is 32,400 square feet.

"I think you have a commission that is working together,” Dorr said. “You’ve got to strike when you have the opportunity.”

 Haley said he topic surfacing at the recent county meeting was "one of the more pleasant surprises we’ve ever had." 

“I definitely think the opportunity there,” Barbetta said. “It’s just the case of political will."