Last year, state lawmakers cut funding for the Hawai’i Tourism Authority, as well as money in the budget to fix a leaking roof at the Hawai’i Convention Center.
The governor planned to set aside money in a discretionary fund for the renovation — however, it was never released due to the Maui fires.
This year, lawmakers are being asked for the $64 million again to finally fix the roof.
Teri Orton, the convention center's manager, said recent spells of heavy rain have caused several meeting rooms to flood. But this isn't unusual. In fact, by now, staff established a "routine" to manage the leaks.
"We know where the leaks are. So everyone's on communication email to deploy all the buckets so to speak, to catch the water leaks where we know they normally are, and then we just figure out and put 'fires' out as they come up," she said.
The 1.1 million-square-foot convention center is more than 25 years old. Orton said the roof has been leaking for at least 20 of those years.
"The leaks have progressively gotten worse. Now it's encroaching into areas that we can no longer hide from the general public, it's getting into meeting rooms," she explained.
If granted the money this year, Orton said she predicts the construction to start in late 2025 to take into account events that are already booked. There is also plenty of permitting and architectural planning she said still needs to be done prior to rebuilding.
To offset costs, lawmakers have proposed Senate Bill 3006 to allow the center to facilitate advertising both on and in the property. Orton said the goal isn't for the signage to be distracting to drivers, but instead to brand the building with a local corporation's name that would pay them annually.
"What this exemption would also allow us is to advertise and market inside of our building as well. So then we could have moving signs in the building for advertising and marketing. And it would open opportunities, not just for us to generate revenue, but also meeting planners and organizations that do business in our building," she said.
The measure is scheduled to be heard by the House Committee on Tourism next Tuesday.
This story aired on The Conversation on March 8, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
