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By Lori
Weisberg, The
San Diego
Union-Tribune March 13, 2013 The planned $520 million expansion of the convention center would add 740,000 square feet of additional space. — K.C. Alfred San Diego’s plan to expand its 24-year-old convention center cleared a major hurdle Monday, with a tentative court ruling upholding a hotel room tax to finance the $520 million project. Superior Court Judge Ronald Prager concluded that a room tax approved last year by the city’s hotel owners was a legal means of raising funds to pay for the expansion, which is dependent on the levy for the bulk of its cost. The convention center financing district, which effectively covers the entire city, “was properly formed,” Prager wrote, and “the election regarding the special tax at issue in this action conformed with all applicable constitutional provisions, statutes, and ordinances. Thus, the city’s request for a validation judgment is granted.” While the tentative ruling doesn’t necessarily end the debate over the expansion and hotel tax, it does boost the chances of an enlarged center opening by late 2016 or early 2017. The proposed tax, approved by hoteliers last year in a weighted vote, would range from 1 percent to 3 percent of room rates, depending on how close hotels are to the convention center. That’s on top of the 10.5 percent room tax already paid by guests and a 2 percent surcharge dedicated to tourism promotion. Former Mayor Jerry Sanders had long championed the expansion, insisting that the city was missing out on millions of dollars in visitor spending by not having a center large enough to attract major meetings and trade shows. An analysis prepared a few years ago for the city estimated that an expanded facility could draw on average nearly 250,000 additional convention and trade show attendees a year by 2017, which translates into $348.8 million in spending on lodging, meals and other expenses. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/mar/11/judge-affirms-convention-center-tax/ |
Contact: Lori Weisberg, Staff Writer San Diego Union-Tribune 350 Camino de la Reina San Diego, CA 92102 619-293-2251 [email protected] |