FORT SMITH — Less uncertainty about the future, hard work by staff and the hiring of a permanent director have contributed to a 23 percent increase in revenue for the Fort Smith Convention Center in the first half of 2012, an official with the center said Wednesday.
The Fort Smith Advertising and Promotion commissioners were told revenue was up and expenses were down, leading to a net revenue being up $71,151 over the first half of last year’s operation costs.
Direct revenue from events was $356,423 for the first half of the year, which is $55,367 more than last year, according to a news releasefrom the commission. At the same time, expenses were $598,430, or $15,784 less than the same period last year.
Convention center director Tim Seeberg said last year’s revenue was lower than projections by a small percentage but overall had been growing as the public’s confidence in the economy strengthened.
The confidence is evident in the growth of revenue this year, he said.
The money will stay in the convention center account, said Claude Legris, the commission’s executive director. It will go to increasing the convention center’s reserves and may have an effect on the amount of operating money the center needsfrom the city next year.
Fort Smith city directors had to make cuts in the general fund budget last year to allocate $777,000 to supplement convention center operations. The convention center commission passed a nearly $1.4 million budget for 2012 that included $600,000 in revenue.
“The staging of events booked prior to 2012 in addition to an increase in the local short-term reservations have made this all possible,” Legris said in the news release.
The convention center located at 55 S. Seventh St. hosts a variety of events such as conventions, conferences, music, plays, trade shows, meetings and athleticevents.
The center hosted 146 events in the first half of this year, which is 45 percent more than was booked in the same period last year, according to the release. At this pace, the convention center will surpass in October the total number of events booked in all of 2011, Legris said.
One reason for the increase in bookings, Legris said, was less uncertainty about the convention center’s future. Prospective customers, especially local customers, were more confident in the operation of the convention center than they were last year, he said.
The city proposed a 1 percent prepared food tax that would have generated $1.8 million annually for the convention center. But voters soundly defeated the tax in November.
Opponents of the tax said the convention center was mismanaged and money was spent inefficiently. Some said the convention center was not needed and advocated shutting it down.
The city turned over operation of the convention center to the commission July 1, 2011. After the tax failed, the commission agreed to continue operating the center.
Legris said the hiring of Seeberg in April as the new convention center directorand hard work by the convention center’s staff have contributed to the increase in bookings and greater efficiency in running the center.
The convention center has a full-time staff of 13, Seeberg said, composed of eight in events and operations, two sales directors, one events planner, Seeberg and an administrative assistant.
“It takes very dedicated and talented staff members to help us realize these kinds of improvements,” Seeberg said in the release.
Legris attributed the decrease in expenses to a cooler summer than last year, which helped keep down utility expenses, and no unscheduled repairs or replacements of equipment.
Mayor Sandy Sanders, who also serves as chairman of the commission, said in the release it is the goal of the commission to continue to increase revenue and look for additional cost savings.
“We’re happy to see these kinds of positive results in this relatively short period of time,” Sanders said in the release.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 07/26/2012