CT Convention & Sports Bureau on chopping block amid proposed funding cuts
Robert Murdock
A small, five-person agency that brings meetings and conventions into Connecticut is lobbying lawmakers to save it from budgetary oblivion.
“Our budget is small — a half-million dollars a year, roughly,” said Bob Murdock, the director of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB). “But we bring back nine times that in Connecticut tax revenue within the same year. So, we're really an investment.”
That’s been Murdock’s pitch to lawmakers ever since he discovered at the start of the year that his agency was on the chopping block.
Gov. Ned Lamont’s two-year, $55.2 billion budget proposal removes $500,000 from the state’s tourism marketing budget, and the tourism office has decided if lawmakers don’t approve more cash before the end of the session, the Convention and Sports Bureau will go.
“Our office continues to value the role of sales organizations like CTCSB,” said Anthony Anthony, the state’s chief marketing officer, in a statement to the Hartford Business Journal. “With the resources we are given, our focus has shifted to a more efficient and modernized marketing strategy. The decision to reallocate funding for CTCSB under a certain budget threshold reflects that strategic change.”
CTCSB has been operating in its present form since 2012. It grew out of the old Greater Hartford Convention and Visitors Bureau, which existed to attract tourism business to the capital region. Lawmakers and the Department of Economic and Community Development decided that the concept should be taken statewide.
The group works with event planners to pitch them on bringing sports tournaments, business conventions and even weddings to venues around Connecticut. Murdock says the work goes beyond promoting the brand image of the state and into the nitty-gritty of logistics.
“Is there a venue that fits? Are there enough hotel rooms, or how do I get around the state? Is there an airport? My people are coming in by train — how's this work?” he said of the common questions he’s fielding.
CTCSB generally takes credit for bringing in between 250 and 260 new events to the state each year.
“Our last full year was our best year for the economic impact of those events,” he said, of fiscal year 2024. “It was over $72 million in economic impact, which, when you look at the tax revenue, it ended up being $10.63 of tax revenue for every dollar that the state funded us.”
For the biggest events, the Bureau will be involved in a formal bidding process in competition with other states.
Murdock points to last year’s USA Gymnastics Core Hydration Classic, held at the XL Center in Hartford, as one of the most high profile in recent years. It was the final opportunity for the country’s leading women’s gymnasts to qualify for the U.S. Gymnastics Championship and beyond that, the summer Olympics.
“It was a great event. It was broadcast live on NBC national TV live from Hartford, and it brought in a lot of spectators, a lot of media coverage,” he said.
He said his work for that event went beyond the logistics just for the competitors and spectators, and into creating surrounding experiences in Hartford, including a Pratt Street block party organized in conjunction with the city of Hartford and the Hartford Chamber.
Murdock saw it as a way to connect the event to the community and help share revenue with local businesses.
“That event was very family friendly, a lot of teenage girls. We had games and a band and face painting, plus all of the restaurants got huge amounts of business,” he said.
Murdock has been activating other supporters in his lobbying efforts for his agency. Ginny Kozlowski, executive director of the Connecticut Lodging Association, says many of her members do rely on the Bureau’s work.
“The challenge is, having the resources to attract that visitor, or putting a bid in for a conference or a sporting event. All of that takes resources. And unless the Convention and Sports Bureau is funded, who is going to fill that gap?” she asked. “It’s a piece of business that any of these hotels could not do on their own.”
Kozlowski said that business travel has still not recovered to pre-COVID levels in terms of its share in the state’s tourism activity. And on top of that, she is already seeing the impact of federal budget cuts on meetings and conventions.
“Connecticut is a state that has a lot of government business because we have so many businesses connected with the defense industry and our research, particularly around Yale and UConn,” she said. “We're already seeing conferences cancel because the funding was from programs that were supported by the federal government.”
Her message to legislators echoes that of many tourism professionals in the state, who want to frame the state-funded marketing budget as an investment that brings a return.
“The state of Connecticut is investing in quantum computing, they're investing in manufacturing, they're investing in insurtech and fintech,” she said. “They need to make the investment in tourism.”
Murdock says for now, he’s still booking business, but he’s concerned what might happen if his office goes dark in a few months.
“Who's going to answer that phone call for the events that are definitely contracted?” he said. “I'd hate to lose some of those events, or at least sour those relationships and make it the last time that they come.”
One of the clients he’s talking with is USA Gymnastics, which is seeking bids for events in 2026 and 2028.
“It's funny because I'm working on a bid and I'm not sure I may have a job on July 1st,” he said. “So, it's a tricky spot.”
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