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Convention center leery of competition

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By TED JACKOVICS

tjackovics@tampatrib.com

Published: August 7, 2009

TAMPA - A proposed West Shore Business District multipurpose center would compete with the Tampa Convention Center and erode its sales, the administrator of the city-owned facility said Thursday.

"It's not the sky is falling, ...but revenue streams will be affected," John Moors said. He was responding to a $25,000 consultant's report commissioned by Tampa Bay & Co., the county's visitors marketing bureau.
Moors called for another look at prospects for expanding the downtown convention center, in particular an updated study of funding proposals.

The 36-page report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC provides supporting factors combined with "cautionary issues" the consultant says require further study.

The potential size of the facility, how it would be funded, a specific site and even whether it should be labeled a "convention center" rather than "multipurpose facility" were not addressed in the report.

The Hillsborough County Tourist Development Council agreed to schedule a special meeting before its quarterly meeting in November to further discuss the report

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