Northern Kentucky leaders are exploring the idea of renovating the regional convention center in downtown Covington.
Across the Ohio River, the City of Cincinnati is planning to temporarily shutter the Duke Energy Convention Center in June for a $200 million renovation project. The project is expected to be completed by 2026.
In January, meetNKY CEO Julie Kirkpatrick unveiled a study conducted by CSL Consultants that concluded Northern Kentucky was not being recognized as a convention destination because of the current center’s outdated facility appearances and features, and because of a lack of access to parking and amenities.
At the Covington Business Council’s monthly luncheon on Thursday, Kirkpatrick sang a similar song, telling the audience that renovating the Northern Kentucky Convention Center would benefit the region economically.
Covington Business Council President Pat Frew, who formerly worked as the communications director for the Northern Kentucky Convention & Visitors Bureau, said that convention centers must be constantly updated and maintained to remain competitive.
“There was an axiom in the convention center business.” Frew said. “When is a convention center obsolete? It’s the day it opens.”
The 76,000-square-foot Northern Kentucky Convention Center is owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky but operated by the Northern Kentucky Convention Center Corporation. It features 12,900 square feet of meeting space, 17,500 square feet of ballroom space and 46,200 square feet of meeting space.
It’s within a one-mile radius of nearly 4,510 hotel rooms, 263 dining establishments and has access to downtown Cincinnati by way of the Roebling Bridge.
Despite the positive attributes, the building has yet to undergo significant renovations since opening in 1998.
From Kirkpatrick’s perspective, that needs to change.
“We deserve to be the hub for those small to mid-size medical meetings coming into this region and we are going to absolutely do everything in our power to get the convention center where it needs to be,” she said.
During her presentation, Kirkpatrick pointed out many examples of cities other than Cincinnati that are renovating their convention centers: St. Louis, Denver and Dallas, to name a few.
These cities have unveiled plans for new convention centers with contemporary glass facades, outdoor plazas and abundant meeting spaces.
While the Northern Kentucky Convention Center does not directly compete with convention centers from larger cities, Kirkpatrick emphasized that the region must be able to compete with centers in Madison, Wisconsin, Richmond, Virginia, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Overland Park, Kansas – all similarly sized areas to Northern Kentucky.
So, what needs to be done?
The CSL study found that the interior of the convention center should be renovated to enhance its vibrancy.
“They have identified that we absolutely need to do something in the interior space,” Kirkpatrick said. “We need to enhance the experience of anyone that walks in there. We need to provide more space to have impromptu meetings and pop-ups.”
One way the study suggested accomplishing this is by adding spaces for local food and beverage vendors and beautifying the interior and exterior with public art.
“It does no good to put a Starbucks in a convention center,” she said. “We need to bring more of the local into the center and things like digital upgrades, public art – making it a showpiece. Northern Kentucky absolutely deserves that.”
The study also suggested that the Northern Kentucky Convention Center Corporation activate the approximately 1.7 acres of land set aside by the City of Covington for a future convention center expansion. The convention center is located directly adjacent to the Covington Central Riverfront development, a 23-acre mixed-use development on the former site of the demolished IRS processing center.
“We need a short-term plan for how we activate that land and we reserved that land for the long-term term plan of expanding the convention center, not when it’s popular, but when the time is right,” Kirkpatrick said.
Looking ahead, meetNKY has hired Washington D.C.-based firm Fentress Architects to conduct design work on potential convention center renovations. meetNKY is also putting together a prospective capital stack for the project. When asked, Kirkpatrick said the cost of a project of that size would be approximately $30 to $35 million.
