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Wednesday, Mar 27, 2024
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From Batman to BIO: Convention Center Has Record Year

The San Diego Convention Center had its biggest ever fiscal year, and while the numbers themselves are impressive, so is the center’s ability to provide a safety net under downtown’s hotels and restaurants during a slumping economy, said spokesman Steve Johnson.

For the fiscal year that ended June 30, the Convention Center Corp., which operates and markets the 2.6 million-square-foot waterfront facility, generated an all-time high of $1.8 billion in economic impact for the county and a record $31.9 million in tax revenue for the city.

It counted about 650,000 visitors while the building’s events generated $30.4 million in hotel room taxes, surpassing fiscal 2007 by 28 percent.

“Despite a time of economic uncertainty, we are thrilled that the convention center continues to break performance records and deliver on the promise made to taxpayers when this facility was built and then expanded,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Carol Wallace.

While the county’s lodging occupancy and restaurant traffic have been down this summer compared to last, operators at downtown’s inns and hot spots say that the visitor flow provided by the Convention Center has helped to soften the pinch.

, Connie Lewis

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