THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 6, 1997 TAG: 9702060007
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 40 lines
Virginia Beach City Council got something it didn't bargain for when a consultant reported back last week on a proposed plan to greatly expand the city's 16-year-old Pavilion Convention Center and combine it with a flagship hotel.
Don't do it, advised David C. Peterson of Price Waterhouse LLP. It's an investment that might never pay off.
``You didn't tell us what we wanted to hear,'' a disappointed Mayor Meyera Oberndorf told him.
Nevertheless, we hope the council heard Peterson loud and clear. Consultants are not hired to merely rubber-stamp ill-conceived plans.
Peterson, who has studied projects such as the proposed plan for 25 years, knows whereof he speaks. According to a report by staff writer Karen Weintraub, Peterson said that tentative plans for a hotel-conference center at the Oceanfront would put Virginia Beach in competition with Disney World and downtown Boston and Philadelphia. Virginia Beach is a nice place to visit, Peterson said, but could not compete successfully in that league.
Better to stick with trade and consumer shows, he said.
The consultant found that the Pavilion is actually quite successful, given its age and space limitations. He recommended that the city expand the Pavilion modestly to attract even more events. Peterson suggested more than doubling the size of the exhibition halls and adding a ballroom and new meeting rooms. The dearth of comfortable meeting rooms has long been recognized as a major drawback to the Pavilion.
The ambitious plan for a giant hotel convention center sounded plausible when it was touted by city officials last year. Council wisely hired a reputable expert to examine the plan. By following Peterson's advice, the city would avoid wasting taxpayer money.
The more modest recommendations of the consultant also suggest the need for the region's cities to coordinate the amenities they provide, rather than creating competing or overlapping venues.