Convention centre could be another Commonwealth Games ‘fiasco’: opponents
Posted Jul 5, 2010 05:14:23 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Halifax group has serious reservations about the new proposed convention center and the revenues it’s expected to generate.
Figures from city hall project annual returns of between $8 and $10 million if the new facility is built on the old Herald building site on Argyle street, but there are questions being raised about the business model in place.
“This is not just David and Goliath, this is a new Commonwealth Games fiasco,” says Judy Haiven of the Coalition to Save the View from Citadel Hill.
She says she’s concerned that taxpayers will end up footing most of the potential $100 million bill, and she’s concerned that taxpayers are being pressured to support the project – as they were the failed Commonwealth Games bid in 2007.
But Mayor Peter Kelly says this is not the same, noting the convention centre would be built under a public-private partnership.
“The bulk of the billion-dollar cost for the Commonwealth Games was on the back of the taxpayers,” he said. “In this case, it’s the reverse, where the bulk of the funds to be spent are coming from the private sector.”
Haiven says her group can cite figures showing convention business across the country is on a five-year downward trend.
“If we build one we’re told the people will come,” she said. “And there’s no business case, there’s no absolute figures to say that’s true.”
Kelly remains adamant that the convention centre will provide a good return for the city.
“The economic return through the income tax, sales tax adds to the income generator for the businesses in the downtown,” he said.
The city has committed to providing funding for the new facility, while the province is waiting for a detailed proposal – which the developer must deliver by July 19.
