Senator Lees did not return calls by press time but his assistant sent a copy of the bill as proposed by Lees. It reads: "Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, upon completion of the construction of the Boston convention center project, the Authority is hereby authorized and directed to sell the Hynes convention center, located at 900 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts, as surplus property in accordance with, but not limited to, the provisions of sections 40F and 40F½ of Chapter 7 of the General Laws. The proceeds from this sale shall be placed in the General Fund."

When the legislation was created nearly six years ago to develop the new convention center it was agreed that the Hynes would be protected from closing, despite the fact that there would now be two convention centers in town. But Governor Mitt Romney raised the issue in one of his position papers during his campaign and recently, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority appointed a committee to study the viability of having both buildings.

But the local groups in this neighborhood are not prepared to give up on what they consider to be their economic engine without a fight. "It's important for us to have a thriving commercial district," Susan Prindle, president of the Neighborhood Bay Association, tells GlobeSt.com. The group represents residents in the area. "We are concerned about what could come in there instead."

But according to Meg Mainzer-Cohen, president of the Back Bay Association, which represents 275 businesses here, the bill presents her group with the opportunity to "educate leaders about the importance of the Hynes to the Commonwealth." She believes that all the talk about the Hynes future is impacting the ability of the center to book meetings. "The convention cycle is five to 10 years," she tells GlobeSt.com. "No meeting planner will book unless they're sure [the center] will be open. In order to maintain the stability of the market a clear horizon should be created for the Hynes at least until the new convention center is up and running."

Mainzer-Cohen contends that the Hynes is a boutique center that caters to smaller sized conventions than the new one and will not be competing against it. "If the new center opens in '04 and they close the Hynes at the same time, the business will not automatically transfer," she points out. "Our people are telling us people will go to other cities if they close the Hynes. The business will be lost."

Mainzer-Cohen notes that it is going to take a while for the infrastructure in South Boston to be able to accommodate all the business from conventions. She says that a PricewaterhouseCoopers study that was done on the Hynes indicates that the fate of the Hynes should not be considered until the new convention center is fully ramped up. "We are businesspeople," she says. "We know there has to be a market for [the center] and we know there's business through 2010.

For Mainzer-Cohen, one of the most telling indications of the viability of the Hynes with the new center is the fact that Starwood Resorts & Hotels Worldwide, which is trying to get the convention center hotel in South Boston built, is supportive of keeping the Hynes open. Starwood owns the Westin Copley Place and Sheraton Boston hotels in Boston. "Why would they want to hurt themselves?" she asks.