THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 15, 1994 TAG: 9406150496
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940615 LENGTH: VIRGINIA BEACH
On Tuesday, three consulting firms gave the City Council advice on how to get started:
{REST} Triple the size of the Pavilion. Add a grand, drive-up entrance and a parking garage for 2,200 vehicles. Cost estimate: $40 million.
Entice a major hotel chain to build a classy, 400-room convention hotel, preferably on the Oceanfront. One suggested site: Rudee Inlet. Cost estimate: $38 million to $68 million.
For now, such giant building projects are dreams with no money to get them moving. But they are part of a vision for the next century that would transform Virginia Beach from a summer-splashing beach resort into a year-round destination.
The city is already chasing other pieces of that dream: expanding the Virginia Marine Science Museum, landing the state's first thoroughbred race track, drawing up plans for a 20,000-seat amphitheater and a major soccer complex, and developing five or six new golf courses.
``Do you see the possibility that we could go head-to-head with Myrtle Beach or Hilton Head?'' asked Councilman Robert K. Dean.
A convention center and hotel alone might not be enough, the consultants said, but they would be a first step.
The Pavilion, built in 1980, needs both an expansion and a make-over, council members were told.
``The current image of the Pavilion needs some addressing,'' said Norfolk consultant Brad Tazewell. ``People recognize it as the Beach, but I don't think it's an appropriate image for moving into the future.''
A building of 394,000 square feet, with an exhibit hall nearly the size of 2 1/2 football fields, a ballroom and meeting rooms is needed. It should have a drive-up, canopy entrance to protect guests from spoiling their finery in a rainstorm.
Tazewell's firm studied four locations for a larger convention center, but only the current Pavilion site and a 30-acre tract near the Virginia Marine Science Museum are large enough for a convention hall, which requires about 10 acres. Of those two, the consultants said, the current site is better because of its location and because the city already owns it.
But there is a funding quandary: The council decided to use $40 million from a tourism development fund - which had been earmarked for the Pavilion expansion - for a federally sponsored hurricane protection project.
And even if that money is found, it's only half the equation. People attending large conventions also need somewhere to stay. While Virginia Beach already has 11,000 hotel rooms, it lacks a luxury facility with 400 or more rooms.
The solution offered by the firm of KPMG Peat Marwick: An up-scale hotel at the beach to attract convention-goers and other customers willing to pay more than for typical rooms at the Oceanfront in exchange for all the fancy extras.
Three spots were considered: A 10-acre site at Rudee Inlet,; a 3.7-acre site at 31st Street and Atlantic Avenue; and a third site adjacent to the expanded Pavilion.
The consultants gave the nod to Rudee Inlet because of its ample space - a hotel and parking garage would require about 5 acres - and prime location. Jon Simon, a consultant, said that interviews with convention-goers in Myrtle Beach showed that they don't care whether their hotel is near the convention center; they want to spend their free time at the beach.
Council members questioned whether a convention hotel would steal crucial business from other inns or prompt a rate war.
``I don't expect you will get into rate wars, because there's a difference in the level of quality,'' said Simon. He said a premium hotel would attract different clients but could eventually raise the level of the whole market.
Consultants suggested an array of options for financing the project, from public-private partnerships to tax rebates and cash incentives. To build it, the city would have to attract a major hotel chain, such as Marriott or Hyatt.
Council members said the financial details will be important in determining public support.
``That's going to be a criterion, a significant level of private investment,'' said Councilman Linwood Branch. ``We have a history of priming the pump. We don't need to be the pump.''
{KEYWORDS} VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL
by CNB