After several requests, the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau finally in March gave us a breakdown of the room nights that DCVB president and CEO Phillip Jones and other pro-hotel'ers claimed were contingent on building a convention center hotel. However, the names of the conventions were not disclosed because "some of the information is proprietary and must be kept confidential at the organization's request," according to DCVB spokesperson Becky Mayad.
To our amazement, Jones provided DMN'er Rudy Bush the names of some of the conventions, which he posted yesterday afternoon. Presumably, those organizations suddenly decided their information no longer needed to be kept confidential, or perhaps Jones thought it was too late to corroborate his claims.
We placed calls to all four of the conventions that Jones gave the News, and so far, we've heard back from just one: Clay Stevens, president of International Exposition Company. Stevens handles the arrangements for the American Heating and Refrigeration Expo, which is scheduled to bring approximately 30,000 attendees to Dallas in 2013.
"Hotel or no hotel, we're committed to 2013," he tells Unfair Park. "And I don't know if that's the politically correct answer or not, but that's the way it is."
Stevens stresses that he welcomes a convention center hotel and it would make Dallas a more appealing destination, but "it isn't a deal-breaker for us."
