Visitors GuideSome businesses say the St. John's Convention Centre may be just about the best thing to happen to their bottom line.
This past week, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference attracted close to 3,000 visitors to local shops and restaurants.
Fears that the Convention Centre – which was built in conjunction with Mile One Stadium five years ago – would fail to draw a crowd are starting to subside.
Velma Rose, who owns Velma's restaurant on Water Street, has been happy to see such crowds so heavy that patrons have had to line up to get a seat.
"We were turning over 300, 400 people a day," she says.
"We found it great for this time of year … They were spending big money. The crowd from the conferences were really good on the money."
Kelly Barry, who works with Destination St. John's, says new hotel capacity has helped the capital city attract more and larger conventions.
"We are literally on a roll in St. John's," she says. "We're a hot destination, and we're being talked about."
Upcoming conventions include 500 McDonald's restaurateurs and about 3,000 delegates to a youth conference.
Conference delegates are expected to pump about $23 million into the city's economy this year, Barry says.
Excerpt from CBC Radio Newfoundland and Labrador, June 10, 2005
