Is The Sky Falling On The Convention Center Industry?

A Critical Review of the Brookings Institution Research Brief on Convention Centers as Economic Development Strategy

In January of 2005, the Bookings Institution published a policy brief authored by Prof. Heywood Sanders called Space Available: the Realities of Convention Centers as Economic Development Strategy. Sanders paints a grim view of the convention industry as one in which out of control local government investment in convention center space is underway despite a precipitous and permanent decline in the demand for that space.