PHILADELPHIA
The Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority has begun looking for companies that are qualified to help run the Convention Center. The move had been expected. The 15-member PCCA board voted Aug. 15 to examine other options to operate the Convention Center, which completed a $786 million expansion in March 2011.
Controversy erupted in early June when the 87-member Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association wrote a letter to the PCCA board, blasting what it said were lingering issues tied to labor unions working at the Convention Center—including alleged thefts, discourteous behavior and inflated costs—that were turning away key groups.
Labor leaders disputed the hotel association's complaints, and pointed the finger to what they described as inefficient management at the Convention Center that they said turned a deaf ear to labor's concerns for years.
"The PCCA hopes to find out what private firms can offer, but stresses that no conclusions have been reached regarding the ultimate direction of the center's management," said Gregory J. Fox, chairman of the PCCA board.
Courtesy of The Philadelphia Inquirer
