Wal-Mart takes pride in its well-known smiley face, but the company has left frowns all around Kansas City.
On Tuesday company officials announced they were canceling the next four years of national managers meetings in Kansas City, abruptly ending one of the city’s largest conventions.
The unfortunate decision immediately renewed debate over whether downtown needs a new 1,000-room hotel to compete for large conventions.
That’s what the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association insists.
However, convention and city officials need to thoroughly research whether such a hotel would actually fill up and be profitable — through much of the year.
If so, the city should not rush in with a massive public subsidy to help build the hotel. Instead, the city should seek private investors who might be interested in reaping the benefits of a fast-reviving downtown.
Keep in mind:
The city already has spent millions in general funds and public subsidies to keep the Kansas City Downtown Marriott open.
Local taxpayers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the Power & Light District, the Sprint Center, a larger ballroom at Bartle Hall and thousands of new parking spaces.
All those investments were intended to spur private development. The city cannot keep digging into taxpayers’ pockets when so many pressing neighborhood issues still need attention, too.
On Tuesday a Wal-Mart executive explained that the company likely wouldn’t have pulled its convention if the city had more downtown hotel space, allowing their managers to avoid traveling from other hotels to downtown convention facilities.
(Wal-Mart, of course, isn’t exactly the biggest downtown booster itself, judging by its lack of stores in central-city areas around the nation — including Kansas City.)
Until the city lands a bigger hotel, preferably by mostly private dollars, convention officials must aggressively promote the attractions for small- and medium-sized gatherings.
City officials ought to get good information from independent sources to determine whether a large new hotel downtown is necessary.
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If you build it, they will come.
I couldn't agree more with you on expecting taxpayers to front the bill for a new hotel. They do need to look into private investors. The city is already handing out rediculous tax breaks for businesses that agree to build downtown. Why can't they do the same with a hotel chain? Why can't we just offer it up to Marriot and let them add on to their hotel that already is in place? Their is enough room to build right next to Bartle Hall you could build two 1000 room hotels. If the heads of these big convention see's what K.C. is doing to attract their business they will come. After all we are centrally located in the heart of America. I think for the first time in my 36 years downtown is heading in the right direction. Let's cross our fingers and hope that city leaders and the few big family names wake up and see what this hotel can do for the city and convention goer's. Thanks for your time.