Ord 2006-034 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Local Market Conditions .:. A community's hospitality infrastructure in terms of hotels, restaurants, entertainment and other such factors contributes heavily to the potential success of a conference center. .:. Representing the area's primary conference/civic venues, Texas State University -San Marcos, the San Marcos Activity Center and the Hays County Civic Center have served the local community well for many years, hosting a wide variety of local community functions such as festivals, civic events and other activities. .:. Over the past decade, substantial change has occurred in the conventions, tradeshows and meetings industry, including a substantial change in industry standards for convention facilities. Communities throughout the country, including many throughout Texas, have invested significantly in conference centers and convention/visitor infrastructure as a mechanism to attract new visitors and their associated spending to their communities. With a large number of modern facilities to choose from, the functional and aesthetic requirements that many convention and tradeshow planners presently expect of host facilities has increased significantly. .:. Relative to traditional state-of-the-industry convention centers, Texas State facilities, the Activity Center and the Hays County Civic Center possesses a number of significant limitations, including: 1. Facilities lack adequate size and ability to sub-divide its space. 2. Facilities lack differentiated space. 3. Facilities have limitations in their service and support areas. 4. Facilities lack a proximate headquarters hotel property. .:. Given these limitations associated with San Marcos' event facilities, the community has largely not been able to compete effectively with other regional destinations in attracting non-local events, such as conventions, conferences, tradeshows and meetings. .:. Strengths of the local San Marcos market as they relate to a potential conference center include: 1. Destination (i.e. one-of-a-kind attractions) - San Marcos is a unique community, possessing a variety of well-known visitor attractions. Meeting planners are often interested in host destinations that are unique, offering an array of attractions and amenities that are different from other areas within their organization's rotational region. 2. Close driving proximity to two major metropolitan areas (San Antonio and Austin) and respective international airports- San Marcos is a 3D-minute drive from Austin and just under 50 minutes from San Antonio by way of 14