July 26, 2011--Downtown Akron has a national brand-name hotel again.

The 243-room Akron City Centre hotel has been sold and renamed the Ramada Plaza, Mayor Don Plusquellic announced Tuesday during a news conference.

He said it was "vitally important" to have a brand-name hotel downtown for businesses and to attract visitors.

New owner Jack Saheid, who was born in Guyana and now lives in Texas, took control of the property at the end of March from Akron businessman David Brennan. The sale price was not disclosed.

Saheid said he planned to refurbish the hotel and that it was important to bring corporate business back to the property.

The hotel opened in 1971 as a Holiday Inn and most recently was a Radisson. The hotel lost its Radisson affiliation in 2008.

With the University of Akron converting the former Quaker Square hotel into a residence hall, the downtown area has been without a brand-name hotel. That has made it difficult to attract conventions and conferences, said Susan Hamo, president of the Akron and Summit County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"No one is more pleased, Jack, that you are here than we are," she said during the news conference.

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