Another article on the convention center hotel:
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orlea...a6007c9ee.html
Am I missing something here? It seems that the Convention Center will kick in a bunch of money, the developers will get hotel and sales tax rebates and property tax breaks, and in return, the Convention Center will have control of the property- 40 years from now. Other than an increase in hotel capacity, where's the benefit to the convention center and the city? We just denied Harrah's a hotel permit because we couldn't agree on how much they would pay in return, but now we're kicking in money on a project led by one of the loudest critics of the Harrah's deal?
It just seems that people are falling over each other to build hotels here, so I'm confused as to why anybody would think we need to pay someone to build one. I get that it's New Orleans politics but it seems like they're giving away the farm here.