Downtown Convention Hotel: Do it right, or not at all
In the ‘70s—an era rivaled only by the ‘00s—many assets were built in historic proportion—Bartle Hall, KCI, Truman Sports Complex, Worlds and Oceans of Fun, and on and on.
It’s not surprising that the metro region has major assets scattered among many area counties—cities and counties would honestly not be doing their job responsibly had they not worked to build infrastructure, assets and a tax base. What is a disappointing, however, is that the KC area has had many opportunities to consider relevant sites for major assets that would serve us better today had they master-planned to complement one another.
Those experiences set the stage for my concern over the need to be absolutely right in considering a major Downtown convention hotel. The factors challenging us as a community right now are substantial: First, the city is already in a tenuous budget situation, with multiple sources of new competition for scarce dollars. We’ve gambled on economic development incentives, which have increased in outlays by more than 50 percent over the past three years, and we’re still waiting for the returns on those investments—and may for some time. Mayor Mark Funkhouser is pushing for a $100 million plan to improve infrastructure around public schools, which themselves are a priority, at least those that will not close or sold in the KCMSD resizing plan.
Perhaps most relevant to the Downtown hotel discussion is what’s unfolded in the adjacent Power & Light District. We knew going into 2008, not long after the $285 million district opened, that at least $5 million of additional public support would be required to get it off the ground that first year. Fair enough. But we were caught off-guard, and deeply disappointed, to learn last year that another $7 million would have to be directed into it because the district wasn’t coming close to meeting financial projections. This year? Nearly $11 million.
That, folks, is not a reassuring trend.
The P&L is a welcome Downtown asset, and one many enjoy. But once advertised as a big part of the solution to Downtown’s ills, it’s likely to be absorbing large, unexpected chunks of the city budget for years to ensure payments on the bonds that built it.
Combine those elements, and it becomes all the more imperative that the City absolutely nail the large-scale convention hotel project. We need cost estimates and financial projections that are realistic and attainable in an economy that does not promise a big rebound anytime soon. As important, we need to be right before we rush in to building the wrong product and to avoid engaging a developer that takes more than they bring. And we need a financing mechanism that shares any risks with developers and hotel operators, rather than leaving unanticipated losses to the taxpayers alone.
Look to the East
Consider the strategic investment that St. Louis has made near its convention district. In 2003, the 1,100-room Renaissance Grand Hotel & Suites opened its doors and many other Downtown hotels have been renovated near the convention center and southward towards the new Busch Stadium. Although The Renaissance ran ashore the banks of bankruptcy last year, the net result of the city’s mission to strategically add hotel rooms Downtown has been a success.
The icing on the cake in St. Louis’ convention district came in 2008, in the form of what is now the only 5-star flagship hotel in Missouri and the finest hotel this side of Chicago. The Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis at Lumiere Place is located next to Laclede’s Landing and across I-70 from the Edward Jones Dome. It serves as the centerpiece for hospitality in Downtown.
Of course, the economic fundamentals of its construction were markedly different—with a casino on the property, it wasn’t going to qualify for public funding. And its $507 million price tag for 200 premium guest rooms at the Four Seasons and the adjoining Lumiere Casino, plus a $17 million renovation of the 294-suite neighboring HotelLumiere, dwarfs what KC has in mind in investment, scope and ambition.
Today, convention and civic leaders in St. Louis are bidding to host the 2012 Democratic National Convention. It would require 15,000 hotel rooms in close proximity—St. Louis has 30,000 potentially available hotel rooms and can deliver well in excess the required number of rooms along as of this time. The Democratic National Convention also yields 10 times the revenue of the 2009 All Star Game the city hosted last summer.
I’m all for progress and for building the right hotel property in Downtown KC so long as it effectively complement the convention centers, Kauffman Center for Performing Arts, Sprint Arena, the waffling Power & Light District and serves as a significant draw for convention bookings. If KC is going to take the leap of building a major convention hotel, we should know for sure where we’re going to land—and how hard the project may fall.
Let’s make sure we do this one right. 
Joe Sweeney
Editor-In-Chief & Publisher
Sweeney@IngramsOnLine.com