Convention Hall Revenue Could Exceed $500,000

CAPE MAY — A new Convention Hall here could generate $550,000 per year in revenue and as much as $850,000 to $900,000 under the best conditions according to Aubrey Kent.
He directs the Sports Management Program at Temple University’s School of Hospitality Management. Kent said he was part of a team from Temple University involved in a much larger project with Cape May.
Kent said he was putting together a business plan for Convention Hall. He said he has tried to balance past uses of Convention Hall with the “revenue generating potential of what this spectacular new building will give us.”
Revenue for Convention Hall based on 75 percent usage:
• Community Recreation and Leisure: fitness classes, dances, roller-skating: $135,000 per year.
• Public Events: fairs, exhibits, concerts: $17,250 per year.
• Private Rental: conferences, meetings, weddings, seminars: $215,000 yearly.
• Restaurant and Retail Space: $188,000 year.
Kent said he based pricing structures for community recreation and public events on past practices. For renting the retail and restaurant space, pricing was based on comparable facilities in this area.
He said his projections were very much on the conservative side. Kent predicted the hall would be a very desirable location.
The revenue projection of $550,000 annually far exceeds the expense of operating the previous Convention Hall. With some price tweaking and higher occupancy, the hall could approach $850,000 to $900,000 per year in revenue, said Kent.
Mayor Edward J. Mahaney Jr. said he proposed implementing a city tourism utility, which would break out expenses of the recreation, special events and Convention Hall. The purpose would be to take the burden off taxpayers for tourism related expenses and match them up with tourism related revenue, he said.
During public comment in a June 24 town meeting, resident Dennis Crowley asked how much it would cost to operate a new Convention Hall. Kent said at this time, he could not produce an accurate balance sheet “because we don’t know what is going to get built.”
“Until you know what is going to get built, you don’t know exactly how much it’s going to cost to run the building but we have very reasonable estimates,” said Kent.