The Paducah-McCracken County Convention Center Corporation board has approved an agreement that the Paducah Convention Hotel will manage the Paducah Expo and Julian Carroll Convention centers.
Paducah Convention Hotel, LLC will handle day-to-day management, hiring, finances, booking, maintenance, contracting, and marketing for the convention centers for 10 years with the option of two additional 10-year terms. The hotel will also provide food and beverage services.
The CCC will provide the hotel with a base fee of $10,000 each month, an incentive fee based on the gross operating profit, and a portion of the transient room tax to support facility operations.
“Paducah and McCracken County have incredible assets with the Julian Carroll Convention and the Paducah Expo Center," CCC Chairman Phil McIntosh said. "We offer thousands of square feet of exhibition space with state-of-the-art meeting rooms. We had to make sure this agreement was in the best interests of both parties with the goals of increasing the awareness of what Paducah has to offer and increasing the number of conventions that utilize these facilities.”
The Paducah Convention Hotel announced in May that it had a franchise agreement to build Paducah's new downtown hotel. The $19 million Hilton Garden Inn will include a restaurant, pool, fitness center, and meeting spaces on the top floor overlooking Paducah.
Paducah Riverfront Development Authority Executive Director Steve Doolittle said the agreement was needed before the hotel breaks ground later this fall.
“The hotel design is in its final stages and the financing is coming together," Doolittle said. "This time next year we will be looking at a beautiful six story Hilton Garden Inn.”
