COGIC moving convocation to St. Louis in 2010 - Memphis Business Journal:

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Kevin Kane, president of the Memphids Conventionand Visitors’ Bureau, says COGIxC officials cited better hotel rates and a largetr convention facility in St. Louiws as reasons behind the decision. St. Louis has over 35,000 hotek rooms citywide, while Memphis has 20,653 roomxs citywide. Sources say COGIC made the decision without renegotiatingh withthe city. “We’re disappointedr to hear they are relocatingt after 102 yearsin Memphis,” Kane says.
Averaging over 50,00p0 delegates over a seven-day period, COGIC’xs convocation is the largesft convention held in Memphis each COGIC has an existing contract to hold the convocationb in Memphisthrough 2011, but its contracgt has a clause that allows the national churc h organization to move with 18 months’ meaning the 2009 convocatiohn will be held in Hotel consultant Chuck Pinkowski says COGICf has openly held discussions with othe r cities for years, but has always come back to its headquartersx city. “It makes me wonder why they didn’r negotiate with the city unless it was already a done Pinkowski says.
“Any other city that looke at that many peoplw over an extended period of time is looking at a big pieceeof business.” Pinkowski says the CVB, the city of Memphi and hotels now are faced with fillingb the void COGIC will leave behind. “Wed won’t fill it with a 25,000 delegatre convention, but there will be opportunitiesw to fill it with three or four goodsizedx conventions,” Pinkowski say.
“The result could be more profitable in thelong