Dec 20, 2013, 10:34am EST

Marketing efforts start long before new Albany convention center opens
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A rendering of the $66.5 million convention center planned for downtown Albany, NY. Courtesy of the Albany Convention Center Authority

Michael DeMasi Reporter- Albany Business Review Email | Google+ | Twitter | LinkedIn A new convention center isnt expected to open in downtown Albany, NY, until summer 2016, but local tourism officials are wasting no time trying to market the venue. A display ad for the convention center, to be called Albany Capital Center, will appear in the January issue of Small Market Meetings, a publication targeted at meeting planners. Its a small-but-important first step in whats expected to be an intensive, coordinated marketing campaign for the $66.5 million convention center, said Michele Vennard, president and CEO of Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Schedulers for conventions, trade shows, corporate meetings and conferences typically book space two to three years out. That means Albany officials have to sell the new facility long before ground is broken. I think its imperative they get a sales team selling this year, said Jack Roddy, sales director at The Desmond Hotel & Conference Center and past president of the local chapter of Meeting Professionals International. One challenge will be overcoming doubts among meeting planners that the 85,000-square-foot convention center will open on time. That could deter some from making a commitment for the space. Vennard isnt concerned about that because she said meeting planners are accustomed to dealing with some uncertainty surrounding new facilities. If theres a challenge, it will be getting across the concept of the three entities, she said, referring to the convention center, Times Union Center and Empire State Plaza. All three will be linked by an existing walkway that will be enclosed, boosting the total available lease space to 159,000 square feet, larger than any other convention center in upstate New York. The details surrounding who will market and manage all three buildings have yet to be worked out, but the company that runs Times Union Center, SMG, has already indicated it wants the contract. In the interim, Vennards group will likely have a memorandum of understanding with the Albany Convention Center Authority to handle the marketing until a permanent manager is chosen. According to the latest feasibility study, Albany lost out on 140,653 visitors and 106,898 hotel room nights from 2009 to 2012 because meeting planners decided to go elsewhere, though the reason for their decision is typically not known.

Cuomo admin has OK'ed Albany convention center

posted Dec 17, 2013

A rendering for the Eagle Street side. Updated So, this is news: "A government official involved in the project's negotiations" tells the Biz Review's Adam Sichko that the Cuomo administration has approved the scaled-down version of the Albany convention center. That's a big deal because buy-in from the Cuomo admin would open the way for the release of about $70 million in money that's already allocated/promised/set aside for a convention center project. The new scaled-down plan was introduced in November. It would site a 82,000-square-foot facility at Howard and Eagle in downtown Albany. The Albany Convention Center Authority has touted the new plan -- about a third the size of the of the originally proposed project -- as a "hub" between the Empire State Plaza and the Times Union Center, with all three connected by a covered walkway. The ACCA said the $66.5 million project could be paid for with the already-allocated money. It estimated that it could be completed by July 2016. The Cuomo administration confirmed the approval in a press release later on Tuesday. The release included a name for the facility -- "Albany Capital Center" -- and a start date for construction -- June 2014. Oh, and there's important bit tucked into the administration's announcement:

Furthermore, the land accumulated by the Authority for the first proposed location would be conveyed to the Office of General Services (OGS) and would be made available for appropriate development through a Request for Proposal managed by OGS and Empire State Development (ESD), with the goals of expanding the local commercial tax base and the creation of jobs and opportunities That land is the chunk on the south side of downtown Albany near the bus station. Earlier this year an idea was floated for the land to be used for an aquarium/science center/something or other. The fact that the state will directly controlling the land prompts a lot of questions -including what state officials consider "appropriate development" for the site.

Albany Convention Center Eagle and Howard Plan 11-25-13 Draft Presentation by alloveralbany

Estimated footprint (very unofficial)

The proposed -- and scaled-down -- Albany convention center

posted Nov 25, 2013

A rendering for the Eagle Street side. That entrance is style is called a "porte-cochre." / image: ACCA/CHA The Albany Convention Center Authority revealed a bit more about the revised plan to build a scaled-down, $66.5 million convention center at Eagle and Howard streets in downtown Albany. An ACCA slide deck about the project is embedded after the jump -- it includes some renderings and details. Also there: an clickable map with estimated building print. This new plan replaces the original proposal for much larger facility on the southern end of downtown Albany. That plan fizzled over the last few years under concerns about cost and whether the project could float financially over the long term. The authority is touting the new project -- about a third the size of the of the other project -- as a "hub" between the Empire State Plaza and the Times Union Center, with all three connected by a covered walkway and 2) feasible under the approximately $70 million already allocated/promised/set aside for the original convention center. It projects a timeline that includes a possible completion date of July 2016. There are still a handful of questions and uncertainties about the project. This article from the Biz Review's Mike DeMasi covers a lot of them, along with other details about the project. And what of the south side downtown land gathered for the original project? JCE reported in the TU today that the authority is planing to issue a request for proposals for a mixed-use project on the site.