Owner Selling Convention Center
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 7/30/2007
Oscar R. Parsons wants more time with his family.
Parsons listed the Sarasota Bradenton (Fla.) Intl. Convention Center he owns for sale for $12 million.
“I have three great-grandchildren I've seen for 30 minutes in the last year,” Parsons said. He's also 85 and said it would take longer than he thought to make all the improvements to the convention center he'd like to see.
Parsons bought the building – a former Sam's Club – six years ago for $3 million and made $4 million of improvements, including enforcing the building to withstand 130-mph winds and adding conference rooms and administrative offices.
“This is a really nice facility,” he added. In 2006, the convention center hosted about 80 events. The building has 93,000 square feet of exhibit space, 4,600 sq. ft. of meeting space and a 3,000 sq. ft. kitchen on 17 acres across the street from the Sarasota-Bradenton Intl. Airport. Concerts for up to 5,000 people also can be held in the space.
The convention center mostly hosts private and local events, including campaign stops for political candidates, the ABC 7 Hurricane Expo this month and the Sunshine State Exhibitors Wholesale Apparel & Accessories Show in August.
Parsons said he listed the convention center for sale several months ago, but wasn't actively pursuing its sale until recently. A few buyers have shown moderate interest in the building so far, he added.
