Standing in front of the Water Garden Fountain are the 2017-2018 Texas FFA State Officers who were elected at their convention in July. Held in Corpus Christi at the American Bank Center, the convention is the largest to visit the city. The group won’t be coming back because convention facilities are too small. Courtesy photo
Corpus Christi needs to expand its convention facilities to attract more business. The largest convention on Corpus Christi’s roster, the Texas FFA convention at 13,000 strong, will be moving to a bigger city next year, the Convention and Visitors Bureau told City Council during a recent workshop.
A proposal to spend $75 million to expand the American Bank Center was part of the visitors bureau’s presentation. It included adding 12 meeting rooms, 40,000 square feet of exhibit space and 8,000 square feet of lobby.
A new 300-room hotel built on city property would have to be a private-public partnership. It would include six meeting rooms, a restaurant and a large ballroom.
Money for both construction projects would come from hotel occupancy taxes, according to representatives of the visitors bureau.
Despite all that extra room, however, the convention center still would not be big enough to accommodate FFA’s future conventions. It would be big enough to hold simultaneous smaller conventions, said one member of the visitors bureau presentation team.
A motion to direct city staff to explore the expansion project was approved at the workshop and is expected to soon show up on a City Council meeting agenda.
