The San Diego Convention Center Corporation (SDCCC) had an unprecedented fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, generating an all-time high $1.8 billion in regional economic impact and a record $31.9 million in tax revenues for the city of San Diego. New records were also set for direct delegate spending, $751.8 million; overall attendance, 996,226; and out-of-town visitors, 648,159. Overall in FY08, the Convention Center hosted 234 events. “The Convention Center continues to provide an outstanding return on investment for San Diego taxpayers by attracting nearly 650,000 visitors this year who spent money in restaurants, shops, attractions and for hotel rooms, generating record tax revenues for critical city services,” said Cheryl Kendrick, SDCCC board chair. “Nearly 8,000 jobs are tied to events held in the Convention Center,” she added. Events in the building also generated $30.4 million in Transit Occupancy Taxes (TOT) surpassing FY07 by nearly 28 percent ($23.7 million). This marks the first time in the corporation’s history that TOT revenues exceeded $30 million. “Despite a time of economic uncertainty, we are thrilled that the Convention Center continues to break performance records and deliver on promises made to taxpayers when this facility was built and then expanded,” said Carol Wallace, SDCCC president and CEO. “San Diego has really become a world-class meeting and convention destination. Our FY08 results demonstrate how that success translates into tax revenues, jobs and economic vitality for San Diego.” Additionally, the Convention Center’s sales team sold 932,500 future hotel room nights in FY08, surpassing the annual goal of 850,000 by nearly 10 percent. From July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008, nearly 729,700 hotel room nights were sold as a result of events, the second highest on record. Another key measure of success is building occupancy. At over 70% occupancy for the last two years, the Convention Center is at “practical maximum occupancy” range, an industry term indicating the building is maximizing all usable space. As a result, a lack of available exhibit and meeting space has become the main reason groups are unable to hold their convention in our building. It is important to note that no facility ever reaches 100% occupancy due to brief closures for maintenance, holidays and the difficulty in booking back to-back events due to move-in and move-out schedules of the various events. Since the building opened nearly 20 years ago and expanded in 2001, it has been an enormous success. Overall, events in the building have contributed over $16.2 billion in regional economic impact and $327 million in tax revenues to the city. Additionally, more than 6.8 million out-of-town convention attendees used nearly 10 million hotel room nights. At the close of FY08, a total of 14.3 million people attended events at the Convention Center since it opened. The San Diego Convention Center Corporation is a non-profit public benefit corporation formed by the City of San Diego. The corporation is solely responsible for marketing, managing and operating the building.
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