( CINCINNATI, OH ) -- While travel numbers and convention numbers are looking up in the Queen City, some believe they could be much better.
As similar cities to Cincinnati expand and renovate their convention centers, Cincinnati is on pace to have the smallest convention center among competitive cities. Because of this, there's a push to grow the Duke Energy Convention Center. More space would allow more room for current annual conventions, would bring back conventions that have since moved spaces because of out-growing the area the Duke Energy Convention Center offered, and would entice larger conventions to come to Cincinnati.
The Millennium Hotel is considered the Duke Energy Convention Center's "headquarters hotel", and currently has 850 rooms. To meet the needs of a large convention center and to keep up with hotels of its caliber, the city would like the owners to expand their rooms to 1000. The hotel chain out of London who owns the Millennium Hotel has not kept up with renovations and have expressed no interest to renovate or grow.
The city and Cincinnati's Convention and Visitor's Bureau are exploring all possible ways to expand the space of the Duke Energy Convention Center in the future, but it's ultimately the city's call as they own the center.