Schaumburg convention center recovering slowly from recession

Schaumburg's 5-year-old convention center and adjoining Renaissance Hotel continue to be good barometers of the overall economy, experiencing some positive growth in 2011 but not nearly as fast as was projected, village officials say.

And despite not performing as well as was hoped, the facility still fulfills its original purpose of stimulating the local economy, they add.

Village board members and staff reviewed the convention center's finances this week as they prepared to approve its proposed 2012 budget.

The facility is expected to lose $1.87 million this year, worse than the $885,709 projected in the 2011 budget.

Tax revenues are expected to be $322,000 less than budgeted, while operating revenues will fall $673,000 short of budget.

However, with expected improvements in the economy next year, revenues are projected to exceed expenses by $331,048 in 2012 — the first time the convention center would be in the black since 2008.

Mayor Al Larson said the convention center and hotel experienced unexpectedly quick success for a few years after its 2006 opening. But when the recession struck, they inevitably took a hit.

“Everything pales in comparison to those early years,” Larson concedes.

But the whole point of the project was to stimulate economic growth, which the area around the center has seen and is seeing, he added. He points to the number of restaurants and retailers that have sprung up around the center in recent years, including the Prime Center and Chicago Prime Steakhouse to the south on Algonquin Road, as well as Ala Carte Entertainment's Moretti's and Finn McCool's restaurants nearby.

“It's definitely doing what it was designed to do. We'd like to see faster improvement, but it's going in the right direction,” Village Manager Ken Fritz said.

There are days and even weeks when the hotel's 500 rooms are fully booked and surrounding hotels see a spillover effect from conventions, Larson said.

The convention center had a particularly high-profile show with the Midwest Tea Party Convention, or TeaCon, last month.

“High-profile events are good because they provide leads outside the area,” Fritz said.

Expenses in 2012 are budgeted at $48.6 million, a decrease of 0.7 percent from the 2011 budget. Revenues are projected at $48.9 million, up 1.8 percent over this year's budget.

Sam & Harry's, the upscale restaurant in the Renaissance Hotel, also has made adjustments to its operations, which have led to its doing better than ever, Fritz said.

The budget the village is preparing to approve is some ways os only a tentative plan. It likely will change when the Renaissance Hotel Management Company files its business plan for the new year, Fritz said.