WILMINGTON, N.C.
Some nonprofits and one Wilmington council member fear recent changes to the convention center's booking policy will hurt local organizations and drive down business.
Councilwoman Laura Padgett, along with the Wilmington Cape Fear Home Builders Association and the Friends of the Arboretum, say the convention center's booking policy limits the use of the center. But the rest of the city council and the convention center management company, SMG, see the opposite effect. The booking policy, as amended by city council last week, allows for a blackout period for any organization wanting to put on a similarly themed show 45 days before and 45 days after an event. Padgett and the nonprofit groups say that's too long.
Donna Girardot, executive officer of the local home builders association, said her group and the Friends of the Arboretum wanted to hold a large home and garden show at the convention center in 2013 but couldn't find a workable date because a national company wanting to hold a similar show had already scheduled two events with 90 day black-out dates.
The two groups had been looking to co-locate but, because of holidays and the black-out time period, the show’s options were limited, she said. In previous years, the event was held at Cape Fear Community College and has sold out. "There's just no room to expand," Girardot said. "We're bursting at the seams."
Courtesy of StarNews Online
