The American Bank Center’s lack of a hotel and flexible meeting space has made Corpus Christi a last choice for conventions despite its Tier 2 ranking and attractive tourist amenities.
A new 300-room hotel next to the American Bank Center, as well as some structural changes to the center, could put Corpus Christi back on the convention center map. That’s the assessment of officials at the CAPACITY Summit, held July 24 at the convention center.
“Ninety-two percent of the meeting planners surveyed say they want a convention center hotel,” said Paulette Kluge, CEO of Visit Corpus Corpus, the city’s tourist and convention bureau. “If they use the convention center, they want a hotel right next door.”
With its beaches and attractions, Corpus Christi should be rated a top Tier 2 city, just under Tier 1 cities such as Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston. However, its lack of an adjoining hotel and flexible convention space has caused a steady decline in the convention business over the past 10 years. According to one expert at the summit, Corpus Christi was rated in a survey as second to the last among Tier 2-size cities.
“It beat Kerrville, Texas, by eight-tenths of a point, and we held our events in Kerrville at a high school,” said Becky Bunte with the Texas Association of School Business Officials. “So, it was rated close to a high school.”
Current meeting space lacks the ability to shrink and grow with convention needs, making it hard for incoming convention planners to set up appropriate events.
“For the most part, it’s taking existing space and making it more usable,” Kluge said, adding that while changes would cost several million dollars, money would come from Hotel Occupancy Taxes.
In 2017, Corpus Christi City Council reviewed the possibility of expanding the American Bank Center to include a 15-story hotel. The price tag at the time was $165 million. The matter has not been on the agenda since.
Experts on discussion panels included: Michelle Felton, vice president of Revenue Management Omni Hotels; Tucker Johnson of the University of Houston-Conrad N. Hilton College; Hugh Hunt of Hunt Conference Group; Merry Leonard of the Association of Water Board Directors; Becky Bunte of the Texas Association of School Business Officials; and Pat and Janet Conner of SkillsUSA TX.
Guest moderator was Casandra Matej, the head of Visit San Antonio.
