Hospitality Roundtable Discussion at Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce Focuses on Building a Northwest Indiana Convention Center

Hospitality Roundtable Discussion at Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce Focuses on Building a Northwest Indiana Convention Center

A Hospitality Roundtable Discussion was held Wednesday morning at Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce for all who work in or own any restaurants, hotels or tourist destinations in Lake County to share their thoughts and feelings after the announced closing of the Star Plaza Theatre in Spring 2017. Speros Batistatos, President and CEO of South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority, led the discussion and presentation.

“Thank you for being here, thank you for taking the time from your busy schedules to come out and find out what is going on in light of the recent announcement,” said Batistatos.

For those who may not know, it was decided on August 9th that the Star Plaza in Merrillville will be shut down for various reasons, one of which being the changes in the music industry that affected the success of this facility.

Closing the Radisson at Star Plaza means the loss of about 30,000 square feet of convention space, another 35,000 square feet of theatre space and numerous lost jobs. The problem in booking the Radisson is that the space is too small to compete regionally and too big to fill locally.

In 2014, visitors spent almost $77 million on lodging, $30 million on food and beverage, and $273 million on entertainment. For every dollar a visitor spends, the county is able to keep 88 cents of that. Going forward, the only question is if we will continue to have the resources to keep bringing those visitors or tourists in.

The proposal of a new convention center might be the answer. The purpose of a convention center would be to attract visitors to fill the restaurants, hotels, various businesses with clients and people to the point of success and profit once again.

“That’s why we build these things, like in Indianapolis, like in Fort Wayne, with a food and beverage tax,” explained Batistatos. "That’s the reality of life.”

In order to pay for the buidling of a convention center, Batitastos suggested looking at the impact of what a 3% Food and Beverage Tax into Lake County.

It was impressed upon everyone in the room that this recent change impacts everyone, no matter how far you are from the Star Plaza. One business affects another business affects another business, they are all linked.

“When you start taking that kind of spending out of the economy, it’s going to impact you. When people are now working at jobs that are working for less, they are going to spend less,” said Batistatos.

One of the attendees, Skip Bozak from Bozak Motors in Merrillville, offered nothing but support, sharing a story of growing up in Gary and Merrillville and seeing the way a convention center changed a smaller city out west. “It’s nothing but a positive thing,” said Bozak.

There is going to be a feasibility study for this proposed idea and also a petition that will be available to any and all who are willing to sign it.

To find out more, visit www.SouthShoreConventionCenter.com