The city of Texarkana, Ark., is considering building a new convention center, according to local news reports. The convention center, which would serve southwest Arkansas, northwest Louisiana and northeast Texas, would help the city create jobs, fuel economic growth, and attract large meetings and conventions, insists Texarkana Mayor Horace Shipp."I don't know if I can tell you how exciting it is because it's very exciting," he recently told local television station KTAL. "It will be a difference maker for Texarkana, Ark., and for Texarkana, USA."This spring, the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce, which functions as the local convention and tourism bureau, issued a public survey in order to take the pulse on public demand for a new convention center in the region. Part of a larger feasibility study—work on which was expected to wrap up this month—the survey was created to help determine the proper size and scope for the potential facility, which will service small and large meetings alike."We have a pretty good grasp of the resources, amenities and properties available for the smaller groups," Texarkana Chamber of Commerce President Jeff Sandford told the Texarkana Gazette when the survey was announced in May. “With the community's input, we will be better positioned to recruit and service potentially larger groups who may choose Texarkana as their next meeting place."Although neither the size nor cost of a potential facility has been determined, Sandford has said that the city would like to complete work on the convention center—if it builds it—by late 2010 or early 2011.