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For
Immediate Release: Contact:
City Council endorses proposal by Mayor Gonzales for a larger center to boost jobs, economic development, and downtown business San José ---- The San Jose City Council today unanimously approved placing a measure on the November ballot that will ask voters to authorize an increase in the city’s hotel tax to support a proposed expansion and improvement of the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. “With an expanded and more competitive convention center, San Jose will attract more conferences to our city, and that will bring more visitors who will use our hotels, eat in our restaurants, shop in our stores, and support our arts,” said Mayor Ron Gonzales. “Our convention center will become an even stronger factor that supports the success of our local businesses, adds thousands of jobs for San Jose residents, and increases the vitality of our downtown for the benefit of our entire community.” According a recent economic analysis of a possible expansion, a more competitive convention center would create approximately 1700 new permanent jobs and an increase visitor spending in San Jose by $115 million a year as a result of more and larger meetings. Construction of the project also would support approximately 2600 construction-related jobs. The study estimated that a larger convention center would generate an additional $166 million over 30 years that would be available to support basic city services such as police and fire protection, parks, libraries, after school programs, and street maintenance. “The health and vitality of our economy is critical to quality of life for our residents,” said Gonzales. “Our convention center is an invaluable asset for driving the local economy, increasing opportunities for our residents, and ensuring our future prosperity.” The ballot measure would increase the San Jose hotel tax from the current 10 percent to 14 percent, which is competitive with other cities with comparable convention facilities. Under California law, the measure requires a two-thirds majority of voters to pass. Currently the San Jose Convention Center ranks 82nd in size among the top 100 cities in the nation with convention centers. By potentially doubling the size of the center to meet the market demand for suitable meeting space locally, San Jose’s center could become more competitive with larger facilities in cities such as Salt Lake City, Long Beach and Seattle. The estimated program budget for renovation and expansion of the Convention Center to meet market requirements is approximately $370 million. Additional studies are planned to define the specific scope and design of the project. “Because the hotel tax is paid by visitors and users of the convention center, it is the most appropriate financing method for the expansion,” the mayor said. “A larger and upgraded center will generate more business traffic for our downtown, and I am confident that our business community will help lead this project to success. “This will be a big challenge, however, and we will need the active support of our entire community to achieve this goal. We have found in the past, however, that San Jose voters understand the value of making smart investments that will improve our quality of life and economic prosperity.” # # #
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