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September 9, 2019

Study recommends new hotel, outdoor space to spur Hartford’s convention center

Photo | HBJ File The Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.
By Joe Cooper

A consulting firm hired to examine and recast future opportunities at the Connecticut Convention Center listed a new downtown hotel among its recommendations to spur activity at the nearly 15-year-old meetings-events facility.

Construction of a new 300- to 500-room, $120 million hotel near the convention center is among Johnson Consulting’s recently released list of eight recommendations to boost marketing the 540,000-square-foot facility over the next five to 10 years.

The study targets a five-year period for development of a new hotel, which would be funded in part by public subsidy. A new hotel could generate an estimated $25 million a year in sales as it would help the convention center secure national events, and add to the facility’s adjoining 400-room Hartford Marriott Downtown.

The consultancy also recommended adding 1,500 new hotel rooms within a mile of the convention center over the next 15 years. 

Another key recommendation includes building a “robust” outdoor space linking the convention center to the Connecticut Science Center over Interstate 91. The effort would help add sellable outdoor space and more signage linking the convention center to the Front Street entertainment district and other downtown attractions. A price tag was not included for the recommended outdoor space, but the study said the addition could generate $1.5 million in annual revenue. 

The study also recommended the establishment of a new convention bureau focused on marketing the venue and downtown Hartford, and creating a new state-funded budget of about $3 million to $5 million to guarantee marketing for convention and leisure tourism downtown.

“Compared to competitive destinations, there is virtually no outbound sales function marketing the CTCC (Connecticut Convention Center) and Hartford,” the study said. “This effort will significantly enhance the penetration of citywide events and provide a consistent resource for selling the destination.”

Other recommendations include modifying the convention center’s meeting room concourse and exhibit hall areas to provide networking and collaboration spaces; establish a customer advisory board consisting of national meeting planners that provide feedback and input; and invest in new high-speed internet access, among others.

The Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB) is currently tasked with marketing conventions and sporting events across the state, especially in downtown Hartford. CTCSB, however, has been pinched in recent years by state budget cuts, as its funding has declined from $1 million in 2012 to $450,000 in the current and future fiscal years.

The quasi-public Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), which oversees the convention center and Hartford Marriott Downtown, and solicited the recommendations last year, will discuss the hotel proposal, among others, at its regular board meeting on Sept. 19. CRDA’s venue committee reviewed the recommendations on Friday.

Michael Freimuth, Executive Director, Capital Region Development Authority

Michael Freimuth, CRDA’s executive director, said it’s unlikely the board will vote to pursue any of the recommendations this month as “the board wants to digest” the proposals.

“The trends in the [convention] industry are different today then when the building was first proposed,” said Freimuth, adding that the convention center today faces increased competition from casinos across the region.

In 2018, the convention center lost two mainstay events, including the Connecticut International Auto Show and the Hartford Boat Show, to Mohegan Sun's new $80 million, 250,000-square-foot convention center.

In response, the venue has been targeting smaller events to attract new visitors amid growing competition for larger gatherings.

The convention center, which has exhibit, meeting and ballroom space, hosted 167 events and welcomed 328,000 visitors in fiscal 2019, according to CRDA. The facility cost about $14.3 million to operate last year and generated $11 million in revenue.

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