OFFICIAL - Loews Convention Hotel (formerly Hyatt)

[grovester]

I imagine these things could be buried in consulting contracts and the like. I guarantee that land has been vetted for suitability.

[earthling]

Highest future convention/meetings bookings since 2008, but still kinda low compared to mid-sized convention cities.
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... nomic.html

Would think bookings would pickup faster when all the new upcoming hotel rooms actually go online.

[flyingember]

They won't. None of them are big enough.

I remember reading that conventions hate using multiple hotels for rooms.

[earthling]

A few listed in article are 10K+ conventions. Have to deal with multiple hotels anyway. More rooms the better, free streetcar will also help tie the downtown ones together to some degree.

[DaveKCMO]

A few listed in article are 10K+ conventions. Have to deal with multiple hotels anyway. More rooms the better, free streetcar will also help tie the downtown ones together to some degree.

visitkc has already mentioned publicly that CC hotels are now an easier sell because of streetcar.

[kboish]

How many tower cranes will we see at once downtown within a year or so?

Three is my guess. Two Light, Hyatt and the 12 story building in the crossroads if it breaks ground. I would imagine if three light goes up as quickly as they say, it will be after the crane comes down at two light, but several months before it's compete.

I would add the 2nd Delaware, 531 Grand, and Crossroads Westside to that. All of these are 7 floors with a huge parking facility in relatively tight quarters. Tower crane is likely in my opinion. Not to mention that the Power and Light secondary building/parking structure is currently going up with a tower crane. So my guess is a total of 6-7.

In addition to those tower cranes there is already 4-5 cranes putting up parking garages (with retail)- 16th Baltimore, Hospital hill, corrigan station, others?

There is some kind of construction going on just about in every corner of downtown. Its pretty remarkable.

[miz.jordan17]

Not in KC at the moment, but just looked at the 16th & Baltimore Nest cam, and it looks like maybe there's a crane and some signs up at the hotel site. Does anyone know what this is for?

[normalthings]

Not in KC at the moment, but just looked at the 16th & Baltimore Nest cam, and it looks like maybe there's a crane and some signs up at the hotel site. Does anyone know what this is for?

Whats the link?

[miz.jordan17]

Not in KC at the moment, but just looked at the 16th & Baltimore Nest cam, and it looks like maybe there's a crane and some signs up at the hotel site. Does anyone know what this is for?

Whats the link?

https://video.nest.com/live/16BaltimoreNorth

[normalthings]

Not in KC at the moment, but just looked at the 16th & Baltimore Nest cam, and it looks like maybe there's a crane and some signs up at the hotel site. Does anyone know what this is for?

Whats the link?

https://video.nest.com/live/16BaltimoreNorth

The crane is down I believe.

[flyingember]

The crane is down I believe.

they moved the crane to the other side to put the garage in. Did they take it down from there too?

[normalthings]

The crane is down I believe.

they moved the crane to the other side to put the garage in. Did they take it down from there too?

It was a truck crane by the Kauffman Ballroom it appeared.

[miz.jordan17]

Somewhat related to the hotel-

The General Assembly has passed a bill that allots $3 million annually to cover as much as 50% of the costs of a convention (with certain criteria being met) if they relocate to a Missouri location. All that needs to be done now is have Governor Nixon sign the bill. Coupled with new hotels and our new infrastructure (i.e. KC Streetcar and MAX), this has the potential to really increase the viability of KC as a major convention hub.

More info in the story- http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/b ... tions.html

[flyingember]

$3 million for a 2000 person convention is $1500 per person.

That number is crazy low to have any impact beyond a few conventions claiming it.

[grovester]

Wait a minute, I thought the new hotel and the streetcar were going to have these conventions falling all over themselves to come to KC?

[normalthings]

Wait a minute, I thought the new hotel and the streetcar were going to have these conventions falling all over themselves to come to KC?

Wouldn't this bill also effect St Louis.

[miz.jordan17]

$3 million for a 2000 person convention is $1500 per person.

That number is crazy low to have any impact beyond a few conventions claiming it.

I believe it targets larger conventions instead of numerous smaller conventions. The full text of the bill is below.

http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bi ... B1698I.PDF

[flyingember]

Read item 6 for the definition. It's a major convention if more than 50% of attendees are from out of state and get a hotel room.
It has no minimum number of people required.

this is basically money for holding an event to fill hotel rooms and restaurants.

[miz.jordan17]

Read item 6 for the definition. It's a major convention if more than 50% of attendees are from out of state and get a hotel room.
It has no minimum number of people required.

this is basically money for holding an event to fill hotel rooms and restaurants.

There's a part in there about how it's to expire six years after going into effect. Part of me wonders if either St. Louis or Kansas City will make a pull to bring a political convention in 2020. I guess it could be helpful for NCAA tournaments as well. I'm just trying to think of events where that many people would come to Kansas City who don't live in Missouri already; I just assumed bigger conventions were the the ones where more people from out of state would come. Maybe if it's successful in helping even a few big conventions, they might consider adding more money to the fund. I just think it's a great tool for convention planners to have in their back pockets to lure people in.

[beautyfromashes]

One Thing conference?