The Real Work Begins

Hartford CVB, with low budget, faces more cuts as it opens new center

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 9/5/2005

A piece of the tradeshow pie is what Hartford, Conn., wanted, and what it got. However, keeping a hold on its portion might be a trying task if the Hartford Convention & Visitors Bureau and its new convention center face the budget cuts that appear to be headed their way.

Less than a week after the bureau's June opening of Hartford's third tradeshow venue — the $271 million Connecticut Convention Center — the state cut $1 million from the $5.7 million annual budget of the Capital City Economic Development Authority, which, among other things, operates the bureau and the convention center.

While it won't be clear for a few weeks how much of a hit the bureau's $2.4 million annual budget will take, it is expected to be forced to make changes in the way it markets all the new space available at the convention center.

"We don't know what percentage it is (that the bureau budget will be cut) at this point, but it could be significant," said bureau President H. Scott Phelps.

Unfortunately, the situation is nothing new for Phelps. "We've been historically underfunded," he said.

Even though the Hartford bureau's funding last year doubled from $1.2 million to $2.4 million in anticipation of the center's opening, it still ranks as one of the lowest-funded bureaus in the United States. According to a competitive analysis conducted this year by the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, Hartford ranked 57th among the 59 cities examined.

CCEDA spokesman Dean Pagani said the development authority hopes "to find savings elsewhere" instead of forcing cuts on the Hartford CVB or the convention center to balance its budget.

"We're hoping to cut as little as possible," he said.

CCEDA will go back to the state legislature in February and make its case again — using as ammunition, for one thing, the fact the center is expected to generate $58 million in economic impact in its first year, Pagani said.

Jeanne O'Grady, director of sales and marketing for the new center, said her staff is hoping for the best — and preparing for the worst.

"We're going to have to get creative (in marketing the center)," she said. "We're learning the building ourselves and trying to continue the momentum."

The 540,000 square foot venue offers a 140,000 sq. ft. exhibit hall, a 40,000 sq. ft. ballroom and a combined 55,000 sq. ft. of meeting and pre-function space. The venue was part of a $775 million downtown Hartford revitalization project called Adriaen's Landing.

Adding pressure on O'Grady and her staff, there is a brand new convention center hotel to fill: the 409-room Marriott Hartford Downtown managed by Waterford Hotel Group, which opened Aug. 25. The 22-story, $77 million hotel also offers 13,500 sq. ft. of meeting space and will have 700 rooms after a second construction phase. (The new convention center is operated by Waterford Management, also a subsidiary of Waterford Group.)

However, O'Grady said, the hotel gives the new center a "tremendous advantage" over the city's two other show facilities — the privately owned Connecticut Expo Center with 88,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space and the Hartford Civic Center (operated by Madison Square Garden) with 68,855 sq. ft. — neither of which offers attached hotels, meeting rooms or ballroom space. "It's the total package," O'Grady said of the new center.

The Waterford Group also recently reopened the 392-room Hilton Hartford a few blocks away. It boasts another 15,000 sq. ft. of meeting space.

O'Grady said that along with showcasing these recent Hartford developments to the tradeshow industry in general, the convention center staff is specifically working to entice some of the heavy-hitting New England-based show management firms to bring shows to the city. One firm, Shelton, Conn.-based Infinity Expo Group, has already scheduled two of its shows, Connecticut Restaurant Show and MEDi at the center.

It helps that the venue has a prominent industry gathering already booked. Hartford will host the Society of Independent Show Organizers' next Executive Conference Aug. 14–16, 2006, at the new center. Landing SISO was a coup for the venue, O'Grady said, because Hartford is an easy drive for many conference attendees. "We're going to capitalize on the meeting being in their own backyard," she said.

The new center reported having 250 events, including 22 conventions and tradeshows, booked for its first fiscal year.

Despite any pending budget cuts, Phelps is optimistic that Hartford itself will help the new center draw business with its historic local charm. The bureau has gone as far as incorporating in its name the tagline, New England's Rising Star.

And with help from its citywide rejuvenation projects, Phelps added, "We're hoping that we'll turn the situation around."