By Andy M. Drury, The Macon Telegraph, Ga. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Mar. 16--The Macon Bibb Hoteliers Association says the local economy stands to lose nearly $9.6 million in convention business if the city signs a contract with the National Basketball Development League.
The basketball league would not bring large numbers of visitors to Macon, association members said, and the service industry would feel the pinch of edging out conventions from the Macon Coliseum to make room for basketball.
'The tourism industry as a whole has a huge impact on the community,' said Cathy Avant, the association's vice president. 'We don't know these (convention) groups will be flexible enough to work around basketball. Is that a chance we want to take?'
Mayor Jack Ellis sought to calm lost-revenue fears Monday, calling the pending deal 'an attribute, not a detriment.'
'The taxpayers of this city have been subsidizing a loss (at the Coliseum), in excess of $1 million a year,' he said. 'It's our responsibility to look for every revenue stream to stop the bleeding.'
Long-standing conventions -- including the Jehovah's Witnesses, Georgia High School Association basketball tournaments, Georgia Baptist Convention and Junior Beta Club -- would remain on the Coliseum's calendar regardless of the contract outcome, he said. Most of those conventions are currently scheduled during the basketball season, however, and those convention figures are the basis for the predicted $9.6 million loss.
'If we already have those dates, those dates are solid,' Ellis said. 'We're trying to make money here. We're asking people to come, not turning them away.'
But Kimberly Rowell, the hotel association's founder, said the Macon Whoopee hockey and Macon Braves baseball teams have proven that Macon sports don't draw large out-of-town crowds. The Macon Knights, an af2 football team, was the most recent team to get a franchise here.
'This is not the NBA. We won't see the likes of Michael Jordan or Dennis Rodman,' Rowell said. 'The (Atlanta) Hawks play 90 miles up the road, and they can't even sell out. I don't see this basketball team bringing a lot of folks here.'
Michael Boscoe, the association's president, said the group is not against basketball but is opposed to displacing conventions to make room for sports events.
'With the Whoopee and basketball playing there, where does that leave conventions?' he asked. 'If we had two or three civic centers, yeah, it would be a good idea.'
Regina McDuffie, general manager of the Macon Centreplex, which includes the Coliseum, said schedule conflicts with conventions and basketball aren't certain.
'The (NBDL) contract states that events routinely held would be given some scheduling consideration,' she said. 'It keeps most of them from being displaced, but it doesn't guarantee them.'
McDuffie said she's working to accommodate everyone.
'I'm going to try and work all of that out ... as much as possible,' she said. 'It will be a tight fit, but I think it will fit.'
City Council President Anita Ponder said she'll work to keep long-standing conventions returning to Macon.
'I think bringing basketball to Macon would be a good thing,' she said. 'We have to provide our citizens with sporting opportunities, but council will have to look at that contract very, very closely to make sure there's a balance. It's a lot of give and take.
'There is no question that the conventions that currently come to the Centreplex have a significant impact,' she said. 'Those people put heads in our beds, buy our products and eat in our restaurants. We need to, number one, look at the conventions that are regulars and protect those dates.'
Janice Marshall, executive director of the Macon-Bibb County Convention and Visitors Bureau, was out of town Monday and unavailable for comment.
The proposed contract has not yet been made public and Ellis said negotiations are continuing.
'I think we're close,' he said. 'I think there's some minor things, but we don't have any major points left.'
While Ellis has the power to negotiate a contract, the final say lies with City Council, who must officially approve it. Ellis was scheduled to discuss the contract with City Council at a work session today, but those talks were put on hold while negotiations continue.
If the contract is signed, Macon would likely host 28 home basketball games, and in an agreement between the NBA and SFX entertainment, would book concerts, motor sports and other events for an additional 22 dates.
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(c) 2001, The Macon Telegraph, Ga. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
