Conventions boosting downtown Minneapolis economy, but there's still plenty of room for growth
MINNEAPOLIS – There is more than one big get-together in Minnesota this weekend.
That includes the regional convention of Delta Sigma Theta's Midwest Chapter, drawing more than 2,600 women from seven states to downtown Minneapolis.
"We are all sisters together," said Thomasine Leon, a delegate from Chicago. "I could feel the energy on the airplane, in the airport and now here in the convention center."
As for her impressions of Minneapolis?
"It's clean, people are nice, there's lots to do, and there's good food," Leon said.
Conventions are a key element of a downtown economic ecosystem that feeds hotels, shops, restaurants, museums, cafes, entertainment venues and transportation. This summer, several conventions have returned, but managers concede the energy comes in waves and is not as consistent as in years past.
"There's always work to be done," said Jeff Johnson, executive director of the Minneapolis Convention Center. "We have very busy times and then we have slower times. Consistency means our employees can get consistent work and paychecks."
Johnson added that when the pandemic shut down business, it also halted marketing efforts and site visits that are so crucial for attracting conventions.
"We're projecting over 2023, 2024 and 2025 is our recovery time," he said. "We're generally working with conventions sometimes two to five years into the future. It takes time for events to pick their dates, pick their cities and their convention centers."
Still, a successful summer is showing positive receipts: data from the Minneapolis Convention Center shows an average of around 60 percent hotel room occupancy rate in June, July and August, with the latter to date being the highest percentage (62.8 percent) since October 2019 (75 percent).
Steve Cramer, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council, reported downtown office space is now back to more than 50 percent occupied during the week.
"When we started measuring occupancy it was 12 percent and now it's 55 percent. It's not what it was before [the pandemic] but it's substantial progress." Cramer said.
According to Cramer, his priority is overcoming people's perceptions of downtown.
"Sometimes our biggest critics are our people here in Minneapolis who are living here every day," Cramer said. "I think our best strategy is to continually invite people to have their own experience, whether that's your first Twins game, first time back in the office, first time at a white-table cloth restaurant. See what you think, not what you hear or what other people think. As people have good experiences, those misperceptions will fade away."
