The Paducah-McCracken County Convention Center Corporation is taking ownership of the city’s dome pavilion, assuming financial responsibility for the convention space.
The city purchased the inflatable facility in 2009 to house the American Quilter’s Society annual Quilt Week. But the dome must be relocated to make way for the new riverfront hotel, which is being built at the dome's former site.
The city is buying property at 619 North 6th Street for the relocation and paying for related infrastructure designs. CCC Board Chairman Brian Katz said the corporation is taking on the dome’s operational costs and will eventually reimburse the city’s $1.6 million relocation investments through bonds. Katz said the fiscal court will have to approve the bonds, which he said will be paid for by a portion of the existing transient room tax dedicated to repaying debt.
Katz said the dome will generate more expenses than revenue, which will strain the CCC’s budget. Based on expected use, Katz said the dome will generate about $16,000 a year but will cost about $31,000 a year to maintain.
“But given that we are an instrumentality of city and county government and they are our partners in the convention business, if you will, then it was the appropriate thing to [take ownership of the dome] since our partners wanted us to do it,” Katz said.
Katz said the CCC needs to find additional sources of revenue to alleviate the dome’s operating loss. He said one way to increase revenue is to invest more in marketing and selling of convention facilities.
Pam Spencer said the dome is expected to last another 8 to 10 years, after which officials will need to purchase a new dome or have a new solution to provide convention space for AQS Quilt Week.
