10 years later, Schaumburg Convention Center meeting expectations

From the start, Schaumburg's convention center and adjoining Renaissance Hotel were touted as the next big thing for one of the Northwest suburbs' most business-friendly towns.

At 10 years old - and having weathered the Great Recession - the convention center's earliest backers and those most familiar with its performance say it has lived up to its initial promise.

"It defines Schaumburg in much the same way that Woodfield (Mall) defines Schaumburg," Mayor Al Larson said.

There were two basic goals for the facility when it opened near the Jane Addams Tollway and Meacham Road in July 2006: To become financially self-sufficient and to stimulate economic growth elsewhere in the community.

The village continues to spend $12 million a year to pay off the center's construction costs, but the revenues and taxes it generates cover that as well as the cost of operations, Village Manager Brian Townsend said. In fact, there's funding left over for a systematic renovation of the facility's common areas and guest rooms as it enters its second decade.

One of the clearest examples of how the latter goal has been accomplished is in the number of other hotels and restaurants that have sprung up around the convention center, Schaumburg officials say.

The village has approved seven new hotels since the opening of the Renaissance, all of which were inspired to some degree by the proximity of the convention center, Schaumburg Economic Development Manager Matt Frank said. When the last of these is completed, Schaumburg will have 30 hotels.

Schaumburg village Trustee Tom Dailly is particularly proud of how the center is faring. He argued on its behalf at an August 2003 meeting during which village staff members were hesitant toward the project.

"I wanted to do that for the public record and assure - not persuade - other board members that this was the right thing," Dailly said of the speech he made. "Having worked with budgets for years, I saw the evidence for what I was arguing."

The convention center exceeded

expectations in its early years before the economic downturn applied the brakes. But even in hindsight, Dailly believes it was right to have built the facility when they did.

"It got the foothold before the recession," he said. "Getting convention managers to see this before the recession was really important. We'd already shown our quality."

Brian Casey, president and CEO of the Center for Exhibition Industry Research in Dallas, said older convention centers suffered more during the recession, in part because money wasn't there for upgrades.

Dailly believes a key to the convention center's success is a decision its designers made to build it without support

pillars breaking up floor space.

"He is absolutely right," Casey said. "That's one of the most important things you can do with an exhibition space. It's about line of sight and the ease of moving in and moving out."

While this has since become a maxim of convention center design, Renaissance General Manager Lisa Timbo says it was a stroke of genius a decade ago. Recent data shows the number of booked events and event days in 2016 still hasn't surpassed pre-recession highs, but event attendance is at record levels. And those numbers don't tell the full story, Timbo said.

Because larger shows are booking a greater amount of space in the convention center, 2016 revenues are on track to beat the best pre-recession year by 19 percent, she said.

Dave Parulo, president of the regional visitors bureau Meet Chicago Northwest, said the positive economic impact of the convention center and hotel is clear. He points to a recent study of market performance by Schaumburg hotels over the past decade by Smith Travel Research.

"In 2015, an average of 400 more guest rooms each night were occupied in Schaumburg hotels than in 2005," Parulo said. "The revenue difference in 2015 versus 2005 was an additional $28.9 million in guest room revenue alone. That is a revenue impact before considering additional sales on food and beverage, audiovisual services and so forth."

According to the nonprofit U.S. Travel Association, for every dollar directly spent on travel in Illinois, another 67 cents is spent indirectly on activities such as dining, shopping and buying gas, Parulo added. This significantly raises the impact of the $28.9 million increase in hotel room revenues, he said.

With the first decade now history, officials are looking ahead to the second - including revisiting whether a performing arts theater should be built next door.

Dailly said he's happy the originally planned 2,400-seat theater wasn't started in 2004, as it might have created too much debt during a decade that included a recession. But he's eager to consider a theater again, even if it requires a new architectural design.

"There's a driving need for quality theater in the suburbs," he said. "How many seats is the optimal number? That's the question."

Larson, who recognized the value of a convention center in Schaumburg back in the 1980s when one was proposed as a joint project of five neighboring towns, agrees a theater could make an already successful project even more so.

"Why stop there (at a convention center) if the economy can do it and it's an exciting venue that would benefit both theatergoers and major corporations?" he asked.

The nearing completion of improvements to the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway - particularly with the new direct access to Meacham Road - has Larson believing the years ahead will be even better for the convention center.

While Dailly doesn't consider it an immediate goal, he expects the day will come to privatize the Renaissance Hotel and the village retaining control of the convention center.

Casey, from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, said evidence backs up Dailly's arguments more than a decade ago to push forward with the convention center.

"The exhibition industry has shone brightly," Casey said. "They're probably glad they listened to him."