Convention Center

Also known as David L. Lawrence Convention Center
==Background==
* Pittsburgh's old (but still young) convention center was closed and torn down. A newer, larger, one was rebuilt on the same spot.
* Pittsburgh's convention center ran a budget shortfall of nearly $2-million in 2005. The budget projections did not match the reality of the situtations, by a rather large amount. 
* Pittsburgh's convention center had a nearly $2-million budget shortfall, but its overall costs were nearly $6-million in 2005. The annual operational losses at the Convention Center are huge. 
* The annual operational expenses of the Convention Center are going to continue into the future, draining money from the public treasury with no end in site. 
* The Convention & Visitor's Breau has an appointed board of directors. The board meetings are not open to the public.
== Wind out of the sails. ==
===They choose to churn.===
 The closing of the old Convention Center for two years took away the business flow and momentum. Start-ups are hard. 
 Rather, the new convention center could have been built in such a way as to keep the older building and keep the events. An expansion is unlike a tear down and rebuilding. The wrong way is to churn. The wrong way is to stop and start again. The better way is to evolve, expand, grow.
== ==
* Planks about the Convention Center from Mark Rauterkus
* Put the Xplosion into the Convention Center. 
** The Duquesne Duke in Feb 2007 -- If professional basketball is ever to be successful in Pittsburgh, a permanent home must be found for the Xplosion. With Pittsburgh unlikely to ever be in consideration for an NBA team, minor league basketball can survive in Pittsburgh, but not in the cavernous Mellon Arena. Be it a court in the Convention Center or games in a smaller venue (Hello, A.J. Palumbo Center), a change must be made.
==Convention Center and Gambling Casino ==
Some conventions will not come to Pittsburgh with the arrival of the gambling casino. For example, some rather large religious conventions have been held at the Convention Center in the recent past. Those organizations will choose to go to other cities that do not sanction gambling. So, annual losses by the Convention Center might increase with the arrival of the gambling casino.
==Links==
* Convention Center Hotel
* Greater Pittsburgh Automobile Association's annual auto show happens in Feb. Auto Show
* Downtown, Strip District
* Suggested as a new bus terminal in a hub and spoke system
* Civic Arena is another venue that could host conventions.
* Pittsburgh Expo Mart in Monroeville is another venue that hosts conventions.
====Large hotels====
The Hilton Pittsburgh and the Omni William Penn have minimal exhibit space and would not be alternative sites for the auto show. 
===Media===
* Convention center accident inquiry continues - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, by Jim Ritchie, August 27, 2007 -- The city-county Sports and Exhibition Authority, still has not determined who is to blame for the Feb. 5, 2007, collapse of a beam at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
* SEA given deadline to provide answers for 2005 collapse - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - March 2007, Allegheny County Council has given the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority until 5 p.m. Monday to provide more information about the 2005 collapse of a steel beam at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
* Preferred beam holders not used in Convention Center construction Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in Feb 2007
* WPXI TV says Auto Show to go on despite hole in floor from Feb 2007
* Floor crashes at Convention Center in Feb 2007 from WPXI.com
* http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07037/759781-85.stm Building's floor falls in Feburary 2007
* http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07037/759777-85.stm Saga of problems at Convention Center
* Convention Center Problems, meta article in the P-G in Feb 2007 after floor crashes.
===Blogs===
* http://antirust.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/02/convention_cent.html#comments Convention Center Woes, from Feb 2007
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