Buffalo - War Memorial Auditorium / Convention Center?

[xzmattzx]

DallasTexan's idea is pretty good.

If the land had better access to the expressways with a closer exit and/or entrance ramp, and it was better connected to the Buffalo River, the land value would be really high. It would be a good place for a large skyscraper.

[Spaulding97]

Nice work DT, looks good. I think the restaurants and mueseum should face the other side though. The side facing swan? I think it is, that's were all the action is. That being said, let's all grab some shovels and some nails and stuff and start building this thing!

[NMOPhoto]

fuck that. 2 story waffle house. lol thats my grand vision. chicken wings and fried everything isn't unhealthy enough. we need a greasey spoon like a giant waffle house.

[Sabretooth]

So when are you presenting this to Larry Quinn?

Then I can get my office to go after the site design/layout work.

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

If the land had better access to the expressways with a closer exit and/or entrance ramp...

That would be the dream, but it's never going to happen as long as those highways exist, especially elevated as they are.

They need to go. I-190 first, evaluate, and then the Skyway. Notice which highway occupies/wastes more area in that aerial.

[NMOPhoto]

is that who i have to talk to about a waffle house?

[Sabretooth]

Put a Waffle House in the hotel.

[DallasTexan]

Originally Posted by Sabretooth

So when are you presenting this to Larry Quinn?

Do you think it's actually presentable? lol

[Sabretooth]

It's more presentable than that recent Outer Harbor proposal which was floating around a year or so ago. Far less fanciful (and ugly) anyways.

Sure you could clean it up and maybe expand on your description, nothing's perfect.

What we ought to do is develop a complete set of architectural and site plans and specifications and say, "Here you go. Build it."

[BuffCity]

how about a chicken wing bar in the mens bathroom?

[shovel_ready]

DT, solid idea, even though it still reeks of silver bullet style development.

I dunno about turning a whole block of Main into a tunnel. How will all those upscale chains survive when there is no convention taking place?

I agree that expanding metro rail to the airport (with a nice stop at the Galleria along the way) would really help a project like this thrive and bring way more people downtown. Too bad, in terms of federal transit spending, Metro Buffalo is way to far off the radar screen. And, forget about having WNY residents paying local tax or fee to fund rail expansion!

[BuffCity]

a city can have a "golden egg" if the egg they have now is rotted.

but to make up projects that are not entirely needed and say they will promise the world to city is a little far, those are the "golden eggs" that are not welcome.

fact is we need a decent if not top of the line convention center...and we need one if we ever wanna get downtown on par with our competitors

[Spaulding97]

Here's something about tourism, Hotels and the convention center from Buisness first Buffalo:

Buffalo's battles
Money that formerly was used to promote the region is gone, and that hurts Buffalo-Niagara as a tourist, convention, and conference destination
Business First of Buffalo - January 19, 2007by Dale English
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Jim Courtney
Joanne Hart of Hart Hotels speaks highly of the area as a meeting place.
View Larger Try as they might to entice conference and convention-goers to extend their stay, thereby spending more money into the local economy, Buffalo-area hotels are operating with one hand tied behind their collective backs

It doesn't matter how good the region's amenities or hotel perks are, if a visitor doesn't come here it's impossible to ask them to linger awhile to check out the Darwin Martin House, enjoy a day's excursion to Niagara Falls or patronize area restaurants, theaters and malls.


The hand-behind-the-back belongs to the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors' Bureau, through no fault of its own.

The share of Erie County's hotel bed tax was cut in half last year to $1.5 million. That was money the CVB used to promote the Buffalo-Niagara region as a tourist, convention and conference destination for out-of-town organizations.

The funding was a victim of the county budget problems and the money isn't likely to be restored anytime soon.

Drastic cutbacks
"The budget cuts hurt us drastically, and there's no reason to believe that money is coming back in '07 because the budget has been passed. It was the largest cut any CVB received in the country," said Mike Even, CVB director of convention sales. Five members of the convention sales staff were let go.

"Now, convention service is down to half a person," he noted.

Marketing limitations
Hotels typically don't get involved in marketing the area, Even said.

"We market the hotel and its services quite well, but we find it difficult to market the area as well. That's why we need the convention bureau," said Chris Parsons, sales and marketing director at the Buffalo Niagara Marriott in Amherst.

Scott Grant, manager of the Millennium Airport Hotel adjacent to the Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga, took it a step further.

"The initial contact (with groups) was usually the CVB.They used to do the legwork for us," in terms of finding organizations and selling them on coming to Buffalo, Grant said.

"Now, we have to do it. We need to do more identifying of groups and have had to beef up our spending on marketing," he said. ""Each property has been left largely to fend for itself, and that's hurting us when we want to get larger groups."

As Grant outlined it, each hotel may have to beat the bushes for conferences it can handle but are limited to the capacity of their hotel -- in his case 300 rooms. What if a group needs 500 and, therefore, space in more than one hotel?

Since conventions and meetings are usually booked over a year in advance, the impact is only beginning to be felt.


"The CVB's lack of funding has definitely been a challenge, and until recently we haven't been seeing the full impact," said Michael Marsch, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Buffalo and a member of the CVB board of directors.

"We haven't seen the full impact of the cutbacks. There has been a huge decline in future bookings-those a year or more out. The CVB has been cut off at the knees," Marsch said.

Nevertheless, hotels try to market the area while selling themselves and to have hotel guests come early and stay late.

Lots to offer
Joanne Hart, marketing vice president for the Hart Hotels in Buffalo and elsewhere, said: "There are millions of things Buffalo has to offer starting with Frank Lloyd Wright homes, and we try to tell our people what we have."

Hart's hotels include six locally including at the airport, Amherst and downtown Holiday Inns and the Hampton Inn near the University at Buffalo North Campus. The chain highlights Buffalo's famed festivals in marketing efforts.

"Why not have your meeting around the Allentown Festival, or enjoy the Taste of Buffalo? It's the third largest in the country. Why not stay an extra day and go to the Italian Festival?" Hart said. "And, a lot of different venues like the galleries and museums are more than willing to work with hotels," with packages.

Arranging group trips to Niagara Falls and its many attractions such as the Maid of the Mist is part of the planning package offered to groups, Hart said.

In that, Hart isn't alone. Many other hotels will build a Falls trip - yes, even the casino-into a package if a group desires, either as a day or afternoon off from work or as an add-on when the conference is over.

The biggest thing we have from a national standpoint is Niagara Falls. I'm amazed that so many people have never seen Niagara Falls," said Parsons at the Marriott. "Many meetings are Monday through Thursday so we try to have them stay on Friday and see the falls."

Group rates extended
Like many area hotels, the Marriott extends discounted group room rates for earlybirds or stay-overs for two or three days beyond the conference.


"We always try to set up these shoulders. Tell us why you're here and what you're looking for -- a mall shopping trip, Buffalo's cultural jewels -- we try to put a package together with a group," said Grant at the Millennium.

Because his hotel is next to the Walden Galleria, he frequently arranges shopping packages with Galleria stores for hotel guests. The hotel has long been a favorite for Canadian groups, particularly those bringing in youth hockey teams.

"That's a unique business for us. We have package deals with the stores for hockey moms while dad and the boys play hockey," Grant said.

"We'll extend our discounted group rate for two days on either side (of a conference) if rooms are available," said Geoffrey Reeds, sales and marketing director at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Niagara Falls. (Until last September it was the Holiday Inn Select.)

Worldwide guests
"We accommodate people from around the world and have a large number of international visitors," said Daniel Blachut, manager of the Adam's Mark Hotel in Buffalo.

He said the CVB provides "display materials about activities and points of interest and we promote these. When we sell the hotel, we include materials about various points of interest -- the art galleries, the golf and the sports and many others. We become the ambassadors for the city and have had some success with activities involving Niagara Falls."

Adam's Mark, he added, offers extended group rates for stay-overs and their activities frequently involve tours to the falls, the casinos or trips along the Canadian side of the Niagara River to the cataract.

"We have to compete against cities with much bigger budgets," Blachut said "When organizations make decisions about where to hold a meeting, the higher the profile an area has, the easier it is to decide to go there. That's beyond what an individual business can do."

[eMKay]

I made a quick sketch, too bad it won't happen. Basically it's a convention center, 4 floors of convention space with a tall top floor, and 3 lower floors. They can be configured in any way thinkable. I'm picturing a central elevator/escalator tower with open floor space surrounding it. It has about 350,000 square feet of floor space, and a theatre at one end that uses the old seating, kind of keeping some of the past with a new twist. Maybe with a glass roof, or something like that, maybe a birdair roof like the galleria has (also used in Denvers airport, various stadiums).

[bjfan82]

^ neat 3D drawing, but shouldn't a convention center be 1 floor, not 4+? I've never been to a convention center with more than 1 floor. The whole thing is a cool idea but I don't think its very practical.

[eMKay]

Originally Posted by bjfan82

^ neat 3D drawing, but shouldn't a convention center be 1 floor, not 4+? I've never been to a convention center with more than 1 floor. The whole thing is a cool idea but I don't think its very practical.

Toronto's MTCC has a bunch of floors, have you ever been there?

[homestar]

Detroit also has two floors - BUT you need to have at least one HUGE floor, which buffalo doesn't.

[DallasTexan]

...which is why my expansion would be built

[BuffCity]

I think Rochester is a 2 floor CC.

this will get knocked down anyways...unless the lawyers....ahhhhhhhhh

[bjfan82]

Originally Posted by eMKay

Toronto's MTCC has a bunch of floors, have you ever been there?

No sir I have not...if you read my post you'll see that I state I have never been to a convention center with more than one massive sized room.

[sanjusky]

pls delete the post- thnx