April 11--MCALLEN -- The City Commission may re-examine the Chamber of Commerce's contract to book major meetings for the McAllen Convention Center.

McAllen opened the Convention Center six years ago, hoping the $62.2 million building would attract out-of-town visitors and boost the local economy. Convincing meeting planners, though, hasn't been easy.

Drug-related violence across northern Mexico transformed McAllen's biggest tourism asset into a major liability. And without an adjacent hotel, some meeting planners have turned down the Convention Center even when the Convention and Visitors Bureau offers the building without charge.

"We're starting to figure the better bang for the buck might be to convince local organizations -- or from San Antonio south -- to come in and have their conventions here," said City Commissioner Marcus Barrera.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau, which falls under the Chamber of Commerce's umbrella, markets the Convention Center under contract with City Hall. How, exactly, a new marketing approach would affect the contract or Convention and Visitors Bureau isn't clear.

The Commission hasn't publicly discussed any changes to the Convention Center's marketing strategy. Neither Chamber President and CEO Steve Ahlenius nor Convention Center Director Omar Rodriguez said they'd heard about any proposed changes.

"We've always, just occasionally, when we look at those contracts and they come up, we want to review them and make sure they're fresh and fit the situation at hand," Barrera said.

Under McAllen's current arrangement, the Convention and Visitors Bureau focuses on major state and national meetings for professional associations and other large groups. The Convention Center's in-house sales staff attempts to fill any gaps with trade shows and smaller events ranging from business meetings to weddings.

For 2013, the Convention and Visitors Bureau booked four conventions, including meetings of the Texas Chess Association and Texas Master Gardeners Association. In February, the Convention and Visitors Bureau had scheduled seven conventions for 2014.

--

Dave Hendricks covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at [email protected] and (956) 683-4452 or on Twitter, @dmhj.

___

(c)2013 The Monitor (McAllen, Texas)

Visit The Monitor (McAllen, Texas) at www.themonitor.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services