I’ve attended an event at the new Raleigh convention center and it’s a beautiful, expansive facility. The question, however, is this: Now that it’s operating, is the center — funded by a 1 percent tax on prepared meals and a 6 percent tax on hotel/motel stays – making money or losing money?
Locke Foundation Local Government Analyst Michael Sanera writes today in this commentary that it will be very tough for anyone to accurately assess the finances of the convention center, for a number of reasons, including these:
First, the city budget consolidates the accounts for the RCC and the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts. Thus, revenues and expenses are commingled — making it impossible to separate the losses of the RCC from the losses of the Progress Energy Center.
Second, all food served in the RCC is provided by Centerplate Inc., a private company. The city shares Centerplate’s food service profit, but unfortunately for the public, the city signed a contract with Centerplate that gives city officials the only access to the books. There is no way that the public, news media, or any independent party can verify the city’s share of the profit for a particular convention or meeting. For example, RCC has given free rooms worth $5,000 to Rex Hospital for its Christmas gala. It is impossible for an independent party to see if the city’s portion of the profit from the food will make up for the loss of $5,000 for the rooms.
Sorry, but taxpayers deserve easy access to transparent financial statements about this center.
You’ll find a full report on the convention center, written by Sanera and JLF Research Intern Clint Atkins, here.
