New management at conference center

Rick Pfeiffer, Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
·3 min read

Oct. 15—The Conference & Event Center Niagara Falls and Old Falls Street will be getting new management after the USA Niagara Development Corporation (USAN) Board of Directors voted Monday to dump long-time manager Spectra Venue Management and replace the firm with Destination Niagara USA.

"The pandemic gave us an opportunity to look at the management of this building," USA Niagara President and CEO Anthony Vilardo said while standing in the Conference & Event Center Monday evening. "We had looked at how similar facilities had been managed elsewhere in the state by not-for-profits and we approached (Destination Niagara USA President and CEO) John Percy and discussed them taking on the management (duties)."

Vilardo said contracting with a not-for-profit "quasi-governmental agency" like Destination Niagara USA, as opposed to a for-profit, private entity like Spectra, will "allow us to keep our money invested in the facility" rather than paying a contractor.

"As a not-for-profit, Destination Niagara will bring a financial advantage by not charging the type of fees that we've incurred with a private sector operator," Vilardo said.

Spectra has managed the conference and event center and Old Falls Street since 2014. That five-year contract has since been extended on a yearly basis through Dec. 31, 2021.

Destination Niagara USA will take over the management of the center and Old Falls Street beginning Jan. 1, 2022. The five year deal calls for a first-year subsidy of $1.5 million, plus a transitional budget of $100,000 and can be extended for an additional two-year term.

The terms of the contract call for Destination Niagara to manage the conference center and also work with city, Niagara University, the Seneca Nation and "other significant local parties" to maximize "the use, revenue and hotel night generation of (the center).

On Old Falls Street, Destination Niagara is charged with "general cleaning and upkeep, facilitating and coordinating the programming of OFS events, and administering the permit application process and conducting enforcement for both event and daily vending operations."

"Destination Niagara USA has always been a strong partner to USAN, and we are excited to see its role in Niagara Falls expand as manager of the conference center and Old Falls Street," USAN Chairwoman Francine DelMonte said. "As the business travel and conference industry rebounds, Destination Niagara will be building on the center's prior success."

Destination Niagara USA is the official Destination Marketing Organization for Niagara County. The non-profit has a stated mission to "expand the economic prosperity of the Niagara Falls USA communities by generating individual and group visitation."

"We are excited to take on this new venture as manager of the Conference & Event Center of Niagara Falls and Old Falls Street," Percy said. "This represents a significant opportunity for us to elevate the Niagara Falls USA product, control the brand, increase sales and become more relevant to the community."

Percy also said his agency has the expertise to raise the profitability of the conference center and increase activity on Old Falls Street for local residents and visitors year-round.

"We know and understand the convention and meeting business, the strengths of our destination as a meetings market and how to highlight them in order to attract future convention groups," Percy said.