well being optimistic you could say the newspaper is just offering up comparisons of what other regional cities are doing. however, i'm inclined to think they just want to stir up some drama here to sell newspapers.
the fact is the downtown cleveland convention center was badly outdated and has needed renovated and expanded for a long, long, long time. it's just getting back in the game really. the new hotel and med mart (Global Center for Health Innovation) will also help boost business up when they get going.
a big positive is that being buried underground makes the cleveland convention center fantastically innovative. there is nothing worse than block busting convention center dead zones in the middle of cities and cleveland had the foresight long ago to invest in avoiding that problem.
anyway, the renovated convention center seems to be doing alright for just now getting itself back on the broader convention center business radar. per another article:
* In 2014, the convention center hosted 228 events, which far exceeded the goal of 130 events outlined in the operating contract between management company SMG and Cuyahoga County. Those 228 events attracted 177,000 people.
* But of those 228 events, only 20 were so-called "exhibit hall events" - multi-day gatherings that brought out-of-town visitors to Cleveland, visitors who stay in hotels, shop in downtown stores and eat at restaurants. The goal for 2014 for these bigger, longer events was 30.
* The convention center operated at a $4.1 million loss in 2014, not surprising because most centers don't break even. The goal - for Cleveland's facility and others - is to generate enough economic activity to more than make up for the deficit.
* SMG estimates the economic impact of all 228 events at about $111 million. (That compares to $330 million in economic impact promised back in 2009, when county officials were pitching the convention center-medical mart complex to the public; it's not clear, however, when that estimate was expected to be achieved - certainly not in the first year of the center's operation.)
more:
http://www.cleveland.com/travel/inde...t_on_conv.html
and lastly, as for any who's got the bigger one pissing match business, welp ok if they wanna play that game cleveland's got it hands down because they have two convention centers. the ix center is the largest convention center in the usa and one of the largest in the world, if not thee largest. the structure is over 2M sq ft and has a freakin ferris wheel inside folks. as i recall it was the largest ferris wheel at the time it was built. now that's my kind of amenity for your typical boring conventions
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