Center Planned for New Mexico College Campus
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 3/26/2007
For at least five years, Las Cruces Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Ken Mompellier has lobbied for a convention center in the southern New Mexico city of 75,000. As the largest city between El Paso, Texas, and Albuquerque, N.M., Las Cruces has plenty of untapped potential for meetings, he thought — now, if he could just get the building.
Las Cruces Public Works Director Michael Johnson agreed, saying, "Right now in Las Cruces, if you want to meet in 12,000 (square) feet of space, it's not available."
Their dream came a bit closer to reality this month when the city of Las Cruces agreed to lease 8 acres from New Mexico State University to build an 82,000 sq. ft. convention center.
What's more, it will be across the street from what is expected to be a 200-room hotel, which the university will break ground on later this year.
University regents unanimously approved the final draft of the proposal, and City Manager Terrence Moore signed the agreement, that calls for the city to pay $3,500 per year over the 45-year life of the lease. The city has the option to renew the lease for an additional 25 years. Johnson said the city also has the option to lease an additional 6 acres on the site to expand the convention center in the future.
At completion, NMSU will become one of only a handful of colleges with a working convention center on its campus. Among them are the University of Notre Dame and the University of South Carolina.
Johnson said the city plans to award a contract for the convention center design in late April or early May, break ground in mid-2008 and open the facility in 2010.
The cost of the convention center is projected to be $23 million to $27 million. An already-approved bed tax of $2.50 per night, expected to generate $1.5 million annually, goes into effect this year to fund the center.
Mompellier said that, with an agreement in place, the bureau can now begin to book events for the center.
According to the agreement, the city guarantees a minimum of five paid internships each year for students in the university's hotel, restaurant and tourism management program.
