Boosters say the hotel is needed because the voter-approved doubling of the size of the convention center would not be able to attract the size and number of conventions desired, because there wouldn't be enough hotel rooms to handle the exhibitors, attendees, conventioneers and various other visitors and tourists. But others worry that the city, which will own the new hotel, still doesn't know the exact price tag. The hotel will be operated by a private company.
Some council members, such as Ted Hackworth, wondered why the city should be "so stupid" as to tackle a project that is considered too risky for the private sector. Some hotel developers and operators feel that the city has no business being involved in the hotel industry, even though most downtown hotels have received some kind of city subsidy.
The measure passed late Monday night by the council allows the city to sell up to $375 million in bonds for the hotel. Revenues from the hotel will be used to pay off the bonds. The hotel project has been in the works for years.
Councilman Ed Thomas likes to note that he'd attended a meeting about a convention center hotel seven years ago then left for a friend's bachelor party. That friend now has a child who is in preschool, and the friend is divorced. Thomas, who voted for the hotel, says all of the delays on building the hotel have cost taxpayers money.
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