The Results Of Convention Center Development In Second Tier Cities

Increase tourism in your community by designing and expanding your local convention and exposition services! This book provides you with solutions to the issues that can arise during the planning and production phases of constructing a facility as part of a community’s tourism infrastructure. In Current Issues in Convention and Exhibition Facility Development, you’ll find diverse perspectives from experts in a range of disciplines—including public policy, tourism, convention management, and urban planning. As more communities attempt to gain a share of the economically important meetings and exhibition market, this critical resource will aid university faculty, state and city government officials, and convention and visitors’ bureaus. Current Issues in Convention and Exhibition Facility Development examines the reasons why certain communities should create convention, event, or tourism centers. The strategies and tips presented in this book can help you select the most appropriate course of action for any given community, from locating the best area to build a center, to allocating space for an exhibition center in an already existing public building. This extensive guide addresses the political, economical, and environmental concerns that can prevent a convention center from ever leaving the drawing board. This book offers you practical advice on a number of concepts, including: linear planning in the first phase—ten questions communities must confront Dedicated Convention Centers (DCC)—the “mother lode” of convention/exhibit tourism capitalizing on the union of two industries—conventions and casinos the definition of “success” in the lifetime of a convention center capturing a share of the market without interfering with local venues the facts behind the illusions—investigating the empirical evidence behind the central myths of the convention and tradeshow industry Current Issues in Convention and Exhibition Facility Development is generously enhanced with figures, tables, models, and case studies to illuminate the facts you need to know to stay competitive.

A favorite destination of visitors to the Texas coast, Corpus Christi is a midsize city that manages to be both cosmopolitan and provincial, networked and local. It is an indispensable provider of urban services to South Texas, as well as a port of international significance. Its industries and military bases and, increasingly, its coastal research institutes give it a range of connections throughout North America. Despite these advantages, however, Corpus Christi has never made it into the first rank of Texas cities, and a keen self-consciousness about the city’s subordinate position has driven debates over Corpus’s identity and prospects for decades. In this masterful urban history—a study that will reshape the way that Texans look at all their cities—Alan Lessoff analyzes Corpus Christi’s place within Texas, the American Southwest, the western Gulf of Mexico, and the U.S.-Mexican borderlands from the city’s founding in 1839 to the present. He portrays Corpus as a place where westward Anglo expansion overwhelmed the Hispanic settlement process from the south, leaving a legacy of conflicting historical narratives that colors the city’s character even now. Lessoff also explores how competing visions of the city’s identity and possibilities have played out in arenas ranging from artwork in public places to schemes to embellish, redevelop, or preserve the downtown waterfront and North Padre Island. With a deep understanding of the geographic, historical, economic, and political factors that have formed the city, Lessoff demonstrates that Corpus Christi exemplifies the tensions between regional and cosmopolitan influences that have shaped cities across the Southwest.