UPDATE (June 28, 2011):As expected, a state panel known as the Convention Partnership has officially endorsed and recommended a $2 billion expansion of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, The Boston Globe reported last week. The panel's sign-off is the first step toward official approval of the expansion, which will nearly double the size of the convention center and, separately, add a 1,200-room hotel next to it. In order to proceed, the proposal still needs support from the City of Boston and the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, as well as approval from the state Legislature.
Although some question its cost relative to its value, many members of the state panel reviewing it support a $2 billion expansion of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC), according to The Boston Globe.
Earlier this month, the newspaper reported that it had polled all 27 members of the panel, known as the Convention Partnership; of those that responded — about half of the panel members — a majority said they favor the expansion, having had a year's worth of public meetings about it.
"All of the event planners pointed to the fact that the center needs to expand its exhibit space and needs additional hotel rooms," panel member Richard Dimino told The Globe. "They were then asked if we took those steps, would they come to Boston, and 100 percent of them said yes."
Still, several panel members voiced opposition and said they have asked the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) to provide better data about the proposed expansion's economic impact.
"Clearly there are costs here, so we need to see the benefits laid out in a detailed and realistic way," panel member Michael Widmer told The Globe. "We need to be sold on the jobs and economic gains, otherwise it's not a persuasive argument."
The proposed BCEC expansion would nearly double the size of the South Boston convention center and would include a 1,000- to 1,200-room hotel adjacent to it. The project would likely be paid for with tourism tax and fee increases, and up to $200 million in public subsidies that would go toward the hotel.
City and state leaders appointed the Convention Partnership to review the expansion proposal and recommend to state lawmakers whether it should move forward. Its final report, currently being drafted, is expected to be filed later this summer.