Events at the Vicksburg Convention Center from Oct. 1 through March 31 generated an economic impact of $3.5 million in Vicksburg, according to information released Wednesday by the convention center and VenuWorks, the Ames, Iowa-based company that manages the convention center for the city.

Convention center executive director Annette Kirklin presented the figures at a meeting of the convention center’s Advisory Board. The numbers reflect events during the first half of the fiscal year.

The economic impact is the effect convention center events have on the community, such as retail sales from local stores, meals at local restaurants and hotel room rentals by people either attending or participating in the events.

According to information from the convention center, a total of 50 events were held at the venue during the first half of the fiscal year, including nine conventions, 11 banquets, nine meetings/conferences and eight receptions.

Conventions generated the highest attendance with 9,415 people coming to the center and created an economic impact of $3.16 million in the city. Banquets were second with 2,882 people and generated $72,050 in economic impact, while meetings and conferences attracted 988 people, producing an impact of $60,000.

“That’s what the convention center does for the City of Vicksburg,” Kirklin said.

Under a new contract between the city and VenuWorks approved in October, the company will receive a $5,000 bonus if the convention center exceeds the number of events projected in the center’s approved annual business plan and budget by 10 percent. It will receive an additional $5,000 if it exceeds the number of events by 15 percent.

The company will receive another $5,000 if event attendance figures exceed projected figures for the year by 10 percent, and an additional $5,000 if attendance exceeds projections by 15 percent.

It receives an extra $10,000 for any fiscal year VenuWorks operates the convention center with a budget that requires no city subsidy other than the revenue from the 2 percent hotel tax dedicated to the convention center. If the city has to give VenuWorks an extra subsidy besides the tax revenue, VenuWorks does not get the $10,000.

 

In other action, the board:

• Learned the convention center’s total revenue for the second quarter of the fiscal year was $96,820, which was 21 percent less than the projected $121,847. Expenses were also down from budget projections at $229,378, 7 percent less than the anticipated $245,434.

Revenue from the 2 percent hotel tax for the convention center for the second quarter was $118,165, 2 percent less than the projected $121,530. The two percent tax, which is levied on hotel bed rentals in the city, forms a major part of the convention center’s annual budget.

The center’s net operating deficit was $13,471.

• Learned the convention center and the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau have begun holding a monthly program called “the charmer’s luncheon” to acquaint community leaders with the convention center facilities and services.

The program, which began in February, takes people on a tour of the facility and presents the ways the center and the city can assist local leaders in getting state association conferences and conventions to Vicksburg.

Sales and marketing manager Julie Ford said the program has already had one success, adding a meeting with Warren County Tax Assessor Angela Brown resulted in the Mississippi Association of Assessors and Collectors holding their 2015 convention in Vicksburg.