You don't have to have a casino or a beach or a ski resort to host group business trade shows. I know firsthand, because I owned a business here with clients across the country, and attended trade shows multiple times per year. We went where the trade show was because we wanted to sell, not because of the attractions.

Trade associations like to move around rather than go to the same city again and again. Many can't afford Vegas or Palm Springs. Those markets are very expensive. They might splurge one year, then go to a mid-market the next. I know this because I did it for a couple of decades.

And I reject out of hand that we have no attraction. We ARE the attraction. Texas A&M has more Fortune 500 CEO grads than any school. We crank out more graduates than the vast majority of universities. As they age and pursue their careers, they want a reason to come back and see their Alma mater.

Most importantly, we have trade shows that have to split between two venues right now. Several of them. We have entities located HERE, in town, that can't schedule their OWN show here. They have to leave town because we do not have the space. People keep weighing in on this platform and saying "we have the Tamu Conference center" and "we have the Hilton." Those are fantastic facilities for their purpose but they are not adequate for large trade show exhibitions or concerts or family entertainment shows. I know because I've talked to those who schedule these shows and I've called out of town organizers and crews that set them up. The ballroom at the Tamu conference center is 8400 square feet and the ballroom at the Hilton is 11,000. Not big enough. We either decide that our intent is to never host large trade shows in this town, or we study the possibility of asking the citizens if they are willing to build it. The private sector rarely builds a convention center. The instances I've found were usually connected to a professional sports team.

I suggest we wait and see what the study says.

Holding facilities (and jails) are understandably held to very high building and regulatory standards, often causing them to be cost prohibitive when other options exist. This became the case with the facility at the old building and is the reason it was excluded from plans for the new building. In short, it was a financial decision, one I assume many taxpayers would support.

I predict the study will say whatever the people that funded the study want it to say. That's how those studies work again and again and again.

AggiePhil said:

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Holding facilities (and jails) are understandably held to very high building and regulatory standards, often causing them to be cost prohibitive when other options exist. This became the case with the facility at the old building and is the reason it was excluded from plans for the new building. In short, it was a financial decision, one I assume many taxpayers would support.

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I was responding to another-but since you joined in the conversation…
…I support financial decisions-as long as the decisions account for both implicit and explicit costs.

Gainesville, Florida. SEC town. Equivalent size. 141,000 population. Consultants recommended against in 2013.

I can only assure you that I as one member of council am not pursuing this without doing headache inducing research. I would've never brought it to this point if I didn't think it could be great for us. And, I'll drop it and walk away if the study says it doesn't make sense.

Respectfully

Bob Yancy said:

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Gainesville, Florida. SEC town. Equivalent size. 141,000 population. Consultants recommended against in 2013.

I can only assure you that I as one member of council am not pursuing this without doing headache inducing research. I would've never brought it here if I didn't think it could be great for us. And, I'll drop it and walk away if the study says it doesn't make sense.

Respectfully

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Thanks, Bob!
But what if the consultant says it makes sense…but only if Bryan, College Station, and the County build it together?
Going to build it at the old Applebee's?

I believe it would serve us all, so why not? Need to know "if" before "where."

Bob Yancy said:

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You don't have to have a casino or a beach or a ski resort to host group business trade shows. I know firsthand, because I owned a business here with clients across the country, and attended trade shows multiple times per year. We went where the trade show was because we wanted to sell, not because of the attractions.

Trade associations like to move around rather than go to the same city again and again. Many can't afford Vegas or Palm Springs. Those markets are very expensive. They might splurge one year, then go to a mid-market the next. I know this because I did it for a couple of decades.

And I reject out of hand that we have no attraction. We ARE the attraction. Texas A&M has more Fortune 500 CEO grads than any school. We crank out more graduates than the vast majority of universities. As they age and pursue their careers, they want a reason to come back and see their Alma mater.

Most importantly, we have trade shows that have to split between two venues right now. Several of them. We have entities located HERE, in town, that can't schedule their OWN show here. They have to leave town because we do not have the space. People keep weighing in on this platform and saying "we have the Tamu Conference center" and "we have the Hilton." Those are fantastic facilities for their purpose but they are not adequate for large trade show exhibitions or concerts or family entertainment shows. I know because I've talked to those who schedule these shows and I've called out of town organizers and crews that set them up. The ballroom at the Tamu conference center is 8400 square feet and the ballroom at the Hilton is 11,000. Not big enough. We either decide that our intent is to never host large trade shows in this town, or we study the possibility of asking the citizens if they are willing to build it. The private sector rarely builds a convention center. The instances I've found were usually connected to a professional sports team.

I suggest we wait and see what the study says.

---

You've said enough that confirms what I've seen all along. You somehow think the draw here is TAMU and as long as you rest on that laurel, your conventions will be limited. I am a primary decision maker of where we have trade shows across America for more than 1/2 my life and you are flat out wrong. You seem to think trade show locations are determined by the vendors/exhibitors. Wrong. It's mostly the attendees that set the tone. Vendors and exhibitors are working their assess off during this time, unlike the attendees who want a personal reason to take the trip. Vendors and exhibitors want easy airport access, non-union red tape, and logistical resources. Our airport sucks and you know it.

Bob Yancy said:

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And I reject out of hand that we have no attraction. We ARE the attraction. Texas A&M has more Fortune 500 CEO grads than any school. We crank out more graduates than the vast majority of universities. As they age and pursue their careers, they want a reason to come back and see their Alma mater.

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You call former students an "attraction"? Talk about out of touch in corporate. What, so 1 in 100 of the employees can get excited about returning to campus to see a compete change and what? Make a few drives around the admin building before heading back to the hotel after a quick stop to the Chicken? Good grief.

Attendees not only want easy airport access but want to be entertained in the off-hours. All we have are big brown boring buildings with alumni names with their graduation year written on them and tons of crowded beer joints packed with kids 1/2 their age.

And no company in their right mind sets a convention date on a big football game week. Your corporate experience doesn't seem to reach beyond a few hundred miles if you think Aggie sports is a draw to having a convention here.

I'll gladly discuss if you want to give me a ring. Same area code. 220 five zero seven then a three. Or heck, let's do a Teams or Zoom meeting and invite TexAgs. Let's get some fresh input here.

mhnatt said:

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Bob Yancy said:

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You don't have to have a casino or a beach or a ski resort to host group business trade shows. I know firsthand, because I owned a business here with clients across the country, and attended trade shows multiple times per year. We went where the trade show was because we wanted to sell, not because of the attractions.

Trade associations like to move around rather than go to the same city again and again. Many can't afford Vegas or Palm Springs. Those markets are very expensive. They might splurge one year, then go to a mid-market the next. I know this because I did it for a couple of decades.

And I reject out of hand that we have no attraction. We ARE the attraction. Texas A&M has more Fortune 500 CEO grads than any school. We crank out more graduates than the vast majority of universities. As they age and pursue their careers, they want a reason to come back and see their Alma mater.

Most importantly, we have trade shows that have to split between two venues right now. Several of them. We have entities located HERE, in town, that can't schedule their OWN show here. They have to leave town because we do not have the space. People keep weighing in on this platform and saying "we have the Tamu Conference center" and "we have the Hilton." Those are fantastic facilities for their purpose but they are not adequate for large trade show exhibitions or concerts or family entertainment shows. I know because I've talked to those who schedule these shows and I've called out of town organizers and crews that set them up. The ballroom at the Tamu conference center is 8400 square feet and the ballroom at the Hilton is 11,000. Not big enough. We either decide that our intent is to never host large trade shows in this town, or we study the possibility of asking the citizens if they are willing to build it. The private sector rarely builds a convention center. The instances I've found were usually connected to a professional sports team.

I suggest we wait and see what the study says.

---

You've said enough that confirms what I've seen all along. You somehow think the draw here is TAMU and as long as you rest on that laurel, your conventions will be limited. I am a primary decision maker of where we have trade shows across America for more than 1/2 my life and you are flat out wrong. You seem to think trade show locations are determined by the vendors/exhibitors. Wrong. It's mostly the attendees that set the tone. Vendors and exhibitors are working their assess off during this time, unlike the attendees who want a personal reason to take the trip. Vendors and exhibitors want easy airport access, non-union red tape, and logistical resources. Our airport sucks and you know it.

Bob Yancy said:

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And I reject out of hand that we have no attraction. We ARE the attraction. Texas A&M has more Fortune 500 CEO grads than any school. We crank out more graduates than the vast majority of universities. As they age and pursue their careers, they want a reason to come back and see their Alma mater.

---

You call former students an "attraction"? Talk about out of touch in corporate. What, so 1 in 100 of the employees can get excited about returning to campus to see a compete change and what? Make a few drives around the admin building before heading back to the hotel after a quick stop to the Chicken? Good grief.

Attendees not only want easy airport access but want to be entertained in the off-hours. All we have are big brown boring buildings with alumni names with their graduation year written on them and tons of crowded beer joints packed with kids 1/2 their age.

And no company in their right mind sets a convention date on a big football game week. Your corporate experience doesn't seem to reach beyond a few hundred miles if you think Aggie sports is a draw to having a convention here.

I'll gladly discuss if you want to give me a ring. Same area code. 220 five zero seven then a three. Or heck, let's do a Teams or Zoom meeting and invite TexAgs. Let's get some fresh input here.

---

I was going to post almost the same thoughts. I probably managed 75+ conferences in Texas over 30 years for groups of from 150 to well over 1,000. We first started out polling our membership on where they would like to go. Members were from acoss the country. From there responses we would then send out a questiomaire asking members to select their top two choices from a list of eight to ten that they suggested.. This was done a year or two before the date of the conference, I can't remember any instance where BCS was noted as a desired destination.

You won't get hotel space on Football weekends and there is very little other attractions to draw groups.. The Bush Library is great, but I suspect other than daily visitors from within 200 miles, the library is a nice stop over for a half a day on a trip to other locations.

A conference center here would be used by A&M related groups and local swap shops and trade shows and maybe other groups once a month.

Having run a statewide association my observations agree with your in the things I observed as well. You list the same issues my membership always told me about conference locations. I and the board were always looking for new locations to keep it fresh. Whenever we threw the idea of BCS out to the membership the Aggies were like hell yes....the rest of the membership; meh, . For the same reasons you have provided. Its not that the membership doesn't like BCS...its that they've been here and found it a great place to live and raise kids and a pretty poor place to attend a conference overall unless it was something you were required to do for training/credit from A&M, etc. I was somewhat surprised at my membership responses when they started throwing in "and they don't even have the Dirty Sock anymore."

I saw this over and over. When consultants ask questions of association directors and board the idea of BCS is always thought of as a possibility. Consultants put that in their reports. I've heard the same thing from other associations; when you ask the membership the responses of "who would attend" are pretty poor compared to lots of other locations around the state. There is your disconnect between the consultants study and the reality when the consultants ask the question of certain people to get the answer they think the client wants.

I've been invited to teach one day seminars in my industry around the country by municipal entities similar to BTU/CSU for years. They hold it a the local conference center and we are in one small area and the rest of the facility is a ghost town. Attendees frequently ask "how can the city afford to keep this place open." The local municipal peoples answers when they don't deflect and change the subject are usually along the lines of; we are mandated to use the facility so it looks like it has activity and lots of various city budgets have money siphoned directly off to the facility to show it isn't losing nearly as much money as it is.

Lone Stranger said:

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Having run a statewide association my observations agree with your in the things I observed as well. You list the same issues my membership always told me about conference locations. I and the board were always looking for new locations to keep it fresh. Whenever we threw the idea of BCS out to the membership the Aggies were like hell yes....the rest of the membership; meh, . For the same reasons you have provided. Its not that the membership doesn't like BCS...its that they've been here and found it a great place to live and raise kids and a pretty poor place to attend a conference overall unless it was something you were required to do for training/credit from A&M, etc. I was somewhat surprised at my membership responses when they started throwing in "and they don't even have the Dirty Sock anymore."

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It's true for other conferences or even big projects. Entertainment of that sort is something that some conference attendees look for when they are out of town away from significant others or coworkers or people they know.

OTC at Reliant has flyers in the men's rooms advertising which gentlemen's establishments (which contain no gentlemen) are welcoming OTC attendees.

Working a big project at a large plant in Deer Park years ago, the GC sent in a team of engineers and inspectors and other technical people. When they arrived there was a big lunch and kickoff meeting. Some of the guys asked "where is the best entertainment around here?"

The plant reps said "Well, we've got the Astros, the Rockets, college and pro football…"

"No, we are looking for other entertainment. Not sports."

"Umm, ok, you have NASA. The space center is a great visit. Moody Gardens at Galveston. Kemah Boardwalk. Museum District closer to downtown Houston. Concerts in various places."

"Gentlemen's clubs. Where are the best gentlemen's clubs? We aren't here for touristy stuff."

The plant rep (and the rest of us) were pretty surprised that came up in that setting.

People pulling the strings to visit conference locales sometimes have a broader interest than what most conference planners have considered.

All of that is good feedback, albeit it conflicts somewhat with what I was told by a handful of folks that coordinate these trade shows today.

Maybe I should draft a survey designed only for those in this business locally and collect their feedback. We on council will get the scoping document for the study and a chance to weigh in. Maybe the consultant should conduct that survey. Thoughts?

Here's the questions I asked of 3 folks and their responses. Two of these folks signed up to speak at the last council meeting. One did, you heard his comments in the news. The other waived the white flag and left early because the meeting went late. We received written comments in support as well. There was no opposition.

1) How many trade shows do you currently coordinate in which all attendees cannot exhibit or meet in one space.

All answers paraphrased: "Several"

2) How many trade shows, symposiums, etc are you involved in on which the show cannot be held here due to lack of space? "5 or 6."

3) In your professional opinion, would a Convention Center in BCS capable of holding larger shows get booked for larger shows? "Definitely."

4) What areas of industry do you serve now?

Short course
Education
Philosophy (was mentioned our school of philosophy is relatively small and still constrained to meet by space)
Research security (was told we have a foremost expert here with international draw and can't hold adequate show)
Science and engineering
All Texas Associations of ________ in which ______ has too many members to be hosted in a hotel conference center)
Local health system, part of largest in the state

That's it. I haven't had enough of these conversations yet and thanks for the idea of a survey.

Signing off for the day. I'll hang up and listen. Have a wonderful weekend!

-yancy

" I can only assure you that I as one member of council am not pursuing this without doing headache inducing research. I would've never brought it to this point if I didn't think it could be great for us. And, I'll drop it and walk away if the study says it doesn't make sense. "

Will the citizens get to vote? Or will the few on the city council make that decision for us based on a "study"?

dubi said:

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" I can only assure you that I as one member of council am not pursuing this without doing headache inducing research. I would've never brought it to this point if I didn't think it could be great for us. And, I'll drop it and walk away if the study says it doesn't make sense. "

Will the citizens get to vote? Or will the few on the city council make that decision for us based on a "study"?

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Same voting process as the Instagram prop!

I support the citizens being heard through hearings, our flashvote survey tool, and via bond election if a bond election is necessary to fund it. I can't tell you today it would take bond funding. If we pursue it with private sector funding, donations, naming rights, cash reserves and cooperative intergovernmental agreements- or some combination of those- it's possible it might not be necessary.

The building of a new convention center here is obviously the tail wagging the dog for the council.

Rather than trying to justify a convention center, broaden your mindset as to why BCS isn't a hotspot for attracting people other than football games. There you will begin to discover our shortcomings.

I can assure you, it isn't the lack of another big brown building with someone's name on it that is holding us back.

mhnatt said:

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The building a new convention center here is obviously the tail wagging the dog for the council.

Rather than trying to justify a convention center, broaden your mindset as to why BCS isn't a hotspot for attracting people other than football games. There you will begin to discover our shortcomings.

I can assure you, it isn't the lack of another brown big building with someone's name on it that is holding us back.

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…But we have bird blinds being built that will attract people…according to the city council.

maroon barchetta said:

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I predict the study will say whatever the people that funded the study want it to say. That's how those studies work again and again and again.

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Shhhhh! There's good money to be made telling politicos exactly what they want to hear!

Bob Yancy said:

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I support the citizens being heard through hearings, our flashvote survey tool, and via bond election if a bond election is necessary to fund it. I can't tell you today it would take bond funding. If we pursue it with private sector funding, donations, naming rights, cash reserves and cooperative intergovernmental agreements- or some combination of those- it's possible it might not be necessary.

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"Cash reserves"… where exactly does that come from?

It's actually happening...

Your taxes and fees for services. All cities maintain reserves and invest idle cash. The returns and deposits accumulate and are drawn down continually from operations and/or projects.

There has been a steady stream of people since installed. Me too!

Bob Yancy said:

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Your taxes and fees for services. All cities maintain reserves and invest idle cash. The returns and deposits accumulate and are drawn down continually from operations and/or projects.

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Ever think about "giving it back"?

thatsnothowthisworks.gif

Well, it's looking like, after much debate, we will be cutting the property tax rate by 2.2%. Considering that we are in a roaring inflationary cycle I feel that's pretty darn good. Granted, your taxes paid will almost certainly go up due to valuations, but the rate set by the city will go down. You have an opportunity to speak on this at a public hearing at city hall this Thursday at 6pm.

If this rate passes, our rate will be lower than most cities in Texas our size, and approximately 20% lower than our sister city. Curiously, no one ever talks about that.

I've been in business my whole life, grousing about taxes and often angry about it. But I've rarely felt that way about the city of College Station. They run very tight. Not trying to steal anyone's anti-city hall proclivities I'm just calling it as I see it. If I recall correctly, when you pay your property taxes, only $.25 cents on the dollar goes to CoCS. Thereabouts anyway.

There are things they need to do in my opinion and I propose what I believe are conservative ideas all the time. I don't like how much they spend on architectural and design and consulting fees. I think they could hire a city architect department and still save millions. That's just one.

But on balance I believe you are extremely hard-pressed to find a city of this quality at this tax rate. Just calling it like I see it.

Respectfully

Money could be much better spent on first attaining the amenities that would drive tourism to the area. Once those have been established then build the conference center to house more tourism. Building my the conference center is putting the cart before the horse.

Fair enough thanks for the feedback.

"If I recall correctly, when you pay your property taxes, only $.25 cents on the dollar goes to CoCS. Thereabouts anyway. "

Roughly true regarding property tax, but the city and county have multiple revenue sources.

Bob, I have an honest question. Do you think the money spent on that sign would have been better spent towards the salary of an additional policeman or firefighter? Or better equipment for them? I honestly don't understand how that is improving the lives of the taxpayers that paid for it.

Well, we added 4 peace officers and a canine officer. That's in the budget should it pass. I fought for an extra officer and failed. We're building a new fire station and will be staffing it. But I know where you're going about the Aggieland sign. You're talking about discretionary investments. And I guess I'd say that if we struck every discretionary purchase, we'd have no parks, no ball fields, no Lincoln Center, nothing. Just like the sign, those things weren't mandatory to a city doing business.

To me, wise discretionary investments that give us a bang for the buck, a quality of life, a sense of pride, an identity- are worth it when done carefully.

That sign cost $85k and it'll be there for decades. It'll need maintenance and upkeep but it won't be much. That sign will probably be there after I'm dead, and young Aggie freshman will still be snapping photos, year after year.

Small things can have a big impact and be iconic. I think the sign was worth it, and I hope you come to agree.

Respectfully

So, in short, you believe a sign that folks can take a picture of is more important than increasing the betterment of taxpayers' way of life. Got it.

Eta- We can agree to disagree, but I do respect you for coming here to get input.

So, "no". Got it.

The comparable cities in size, are those in proximity to Houston, DFW, Austin or San Antonio? If so, I think you'd find that the average household income is dramatically higher in those cities. That way, the tax *burden* for those folks is less I'd argue. I know this sounds incredible, but there are cities in our fair state that have a zero tax rate, one even about double our size (Stafford).

I find this whole dialogue very insightful as to the mindset of the current members of city council, and their tone deaf attitude towards those in the community that work for the university, governments, or the school district while inflation is going crazy, with little to no increase in mean wages.

"Let them take selfies!!!"

Any and all comments I make on this platform reflect my own views and only mine, and should not be construed in any way to reflect those of city staff, our mayor, or other council members.

Respectfully

Hornbeck said:

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Bob Yancy said:

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I support the citizens being heard through hearings, our flashvote survey tool, and via bond election if a bond election is necessary to fund it. I can't tell you today it would take bond funding. If we pursue it with private sector funding, donations, naming rights, cash reserves and cooperative intergovernmental agreements- or some combination of those- it's possible it might not be necessary.

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"Cash reserves"… where exactly does that come from?

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Our overpriced utility bills!