Meeting at the crossroads: major Indiana Convention Center expansion proposed. But where?

• Author: Held, Shari
• Position: Meetings & Conventions

SINCE 9/11, THE hospitality industry nationwide has, at best, maintained a status quo. While convention and trade-show business has declined in many markets, it's been on the rise in Indianapolis. The challenge is to keep the momentum going.

"In 2002, the last year for which statistics are available, our convention center had the highest occupancy rate of any convention center in the country, bar none," says Fred Glass, president of the Capital Improvement Board (CIB), a quasi-governmental body that owns and operates the Indiana Convention Center and RCA Dome. "We are bucking the trend."

Indianapolis is a popular destination for conventions because of the number of hotels connected to the center; a nice mix of shopping, dining and nighttime entertainment venues within walking distance; Indianapolis' easily accessible central location and reputation as a safe city; and last, but not least, Hoosier hospitality

The need to expand. "The largest impediment to our growth is we are a victim of our success," says Glass. "Our building is full and we can't add any more events. Expanding the convention center will not only give us increased sales but also enable us to preserve the sales that we have now."

A proposed expansion would add 275,000 additional square feet of exhibit space, a 60,000 square-foot ballroom and approximately 130,000 square feet of meeting space.

Today, with 308,700 square feet of exhibit space, the center is eighth-largest among a field of 12 competitors in middle-market cities. The proposed expansion would put it in third place behind Atlanta and Detroit, all things remaining equal. But that's doubtful in the highly competitive hospitality industry. The center's last expansion in 2001 merely maintained its ranking. At that time, 100,000 square feet was added for a cost of $85 million.

"This last time we expanded, the additional convention space and hotel room inventory was pretty much immediately absorbed," says Bob Bedell, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association. "That simply means that there is a significant pent-up demand for bringing major conventions to Indianapolis. Every time we've expanded, we've increased business pretty dramatically."

The need for expansion is supported by a PricewaterhouseCoopers study commissioned by the CIB. Two of the center's largest conventions--Custom Electronics Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) and Performance Racing Industry (PRI)--have already...