SHOW ME CENTER EXPANSION PROPOSED

Construction of a 30,000-square-foot addition to the Show Me Center would provide needed convention and meeting room space, center Director David Ross said Tuesday.

In a proposal to the city, Ross suggested that some of the motel and restaurant tax revenue from the city's tourism fund be used to help fund construction of an addition on the south side of the Show Me Center.

"What we are lacking in Cape Girardeau right now are meeting facilities for 250 to 800 or 900 people," said Ross.

He said the proposed addition could provide 26,000 to 30,000 square feet of usable space. The add~ition would have meeting rooms that would have movable partitions like those in meeting rooms in the University Center on the Southeast Missouri State University campus.

Ross' proposal is one of 28 separate proposals recently received by the Cape Girardeau City Council for use of the tourism funds. The motel and restaurant taxes currently generate about $600,000 annually, with about $323,000 of the revenue used to fund the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

No cost estimate has been given for the proposed addition, but Ross envisions the city would pay for half of the project through the tourism fund, with the other half being paid by the university.

Ross acknowledged, however, that funding is a big question mark, particularly on the part of the university. "The university right now is in financial straits. They don't have the money right now."

Ross said he plans to discuss the idea at today's meeting of the Show Me Center Board of Managers, a six-member group appointed by the university and the city to oversee the center's operation.

He said he would ask board members for any ideas they might have on how the university could fund a part of the cost of such a project.

The addition, said Ross, could be built on what is currently a parking lot containing 77 spaces.

The addition would eliminate the small parking lot, but Ross said he believes the center has sufficient parking. "If we lose 77 spaces, we can absorb that," he said.

Ross maintained the convention and meeting room addition could be operated with existing Show Me Center personnel, although ultimately one or two additional staff members might be needed.

"We've got administration here. We've got parking here. We've got a base already built," he said.

"With the four-year history of operations of the facility, I think we can avoid some pitfalls and build on some of the advantages that we have," observed Ross.

In a Nov. 20 letter to City Manager J. Ronald Fischer, Ross suggested the addition could also house Convention and Visitors Bureau offices, which are now housed in the Chamber of Commerce building.

Ross said additional meeting rooms are "critical for attracting large conventions."

For example, he pointed out, such an addition would allow the Show Me Center to serve conventions with 6,000 participants.

The joint financial partnership between the city and the university in construction of the $13.5 million Show Me Center generated controversy and unsuccessful legal action by opponents of the project in the mid-1980s.

"Quite honestly, I am not interested in creating another controversy for the city or the university," said Ross. "I am interested in what is going to be beneficial for us all."

Ross said the idea of expanding the Show Me Center is "still a wide open type proposal."

Monday night, the Cape Girardeau City Council forwarded the proposals for use of tourism funds to the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Advisory Board for its recommendations. The council instructed the board to issue its recommendations by March 1.

Ross serves on the board.

"When the CVB gets together, we will probably establish some sort of ground rules," said Ross, adding that he would likely abstain from voting on the proposal for expansion of the Show Me Center.

"I think everybody is kind of just waiting to see what is going to come out, how is this going to be handled," said Ross.

The Show Me Center director said that some criticism can be expected regarding any proposal or recommendation.

"Whatever we come up with, there are some people who are going to be upset about it," he said.