San José Puts
Convention Center
Expansion on November Ballot
City Council endorses proposal by Mayor Gonzales for a larger center
to boost jobs, economic development, and downtown business
San José, CA --- The San José City Council today unanimously
approved placing a measure on the November ballot that will ask voters
to authorize an increase in the city’s hotel tax to support a proposed
expansion and improvement of the San José McEnery Convention Center.
“With an expanded and more competitive convention center, San José will attract more conferences to our city, and that will bring more
visitors who will use our hotels, eat in our restaurants, shop in our
stores, and support our arts,” said Mayor Ron Gonzales.
“Our convention center will become an even stronger factor that
supports the success of our local businesses, adds thousands of jobs for
San José residents, and increases the vitality of our downtown for the
benefit of our entire community.”
According a recent economic analysis of a possible expansion, a more
competitive convention center would create approximately 1700 new permanent
jobs and an increase visitor spending in San José by $115 million a year
as a result of more and larger meetings. Construction of the project also
would support approximately 2600 construction-related jobs.
The study estimated that a larger convention center would generate an
additional $166 million over 30 years that would be available to support
basic city services such as police and fire protection, parks, libraries,
after school programs, and street maintenance.
“The health and vitality of our economy is critical to quality
of life for our residents,” said Gonzales. “Our convention
center is an invaluable asset for driving the local economy, increasing
opportunities for our residents, and ensuring our future prosperity.”
The ballot measure would increase the San José hotel tax from the current
10 percent to 14 percent, which is competitive with other cities with
comparable convention facilities. Under California law, the measure requires
a two-thirds majority of voters to pass.
Currently the San José Convention Center ranks 82nd in size among the
top 100 cities in the nation with convention centers. By potentially doubling
the size of the center to meet the market demand for suitable meeting
space locally, San José’s center could become more competitive with
larger facilities in cities such as Salt Lake City, Long Beach and Seattle.
The estimated program budget for renovation and expansion of the Convention
Center to meet market requirements is approximately $370 million. Additional
studies are planned to define the specific scope and design of the project.
“Because the hotel tax is paid by visitors and users of the convention
center, it is the most appropriate financing method for the expansion,”
the mayor said. “A larger and upgraded center will generate more
business traffic for our downtown, and I am confident that our business
community will help lead this project to success.
“This will be a big challenge, however, and we will need the active
support of our entire community to achieve this goal. We have found in
the past, however, that San José voters understand the value of making
smart investments that will improve our quality of life and economic prosperity.”
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