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Gaps in London Free Press story on London Ontario Convention Centre

April 27, 2007 at 10:30 am Leave a comment

Originally posted April 27, 2007

I think there are deficits in this April 26, 2007 London Free Press story titled Centre has Reason to Celebrate. This story follows on the heels of an earlier story suffering from the same rather flat boosterism themes as referenced in a previous story on July 25, 2006 Centre has Record Year, A Rise in Business Travel Helps Boost Income to $3.7M by London Free Press Staff Writer Norman Di Bono.

I think a necessary and important element in these pieces would be to include some real business information that could expand on the following points:

How many people work at the Centre? Are they full-time or part-time or contract workers? How is the Centre governed or managed? Have there been labor issues? What is the economic impact as a multiplier effect of revenue coming into the city as a result of the Centre?

Do conventions at the Centre tangibly contribute to the city’s tourism receipts (i.e. hotel rooms and restaurants the result of overnight out-of-town quests) or are most of the Centre’s attendees locals? How about including an actual list of some of the bigger conventions over the time period that were hosted there and make mention of the number of attendees, the names of major companies, and some prominent industry groups represented.Have there been any controversial meetings that were hosted or rejected?

Also, it would be interesting to read about how the Centre attracts, solicits and competes for these conventions. Obviously whatever they’re doing, is effective, and therefore these details would make for a more interesting story.It would also be fascinating to contrast and compare the active days as a ratio to days the Centre is vacant and empty.

In a nutshell: what are the Centre’s attributes on the one hand, and the negatives associated with the Centre as seen by users and by professionals in the convention business, on the other. How do these industry professionals in the corporate meeting and incentive travel business see the Centre and what do they say about how it stacks up to the competition? Clearly this story generates more questions than it answers, and obviously desrves a little more thorough reporting.

Entry filed under: London Free Press, London Ontario, News & Views. Tags: London Free Press, London Ontario, News & Views.