Dayton Exposed

A recent Dayton Daily News article reports that the Dayton Expo Center has been leased to the city from United States Air & Trade Show board. So what does this mean for the city? According to the director of the convention center Bart Shaw, about $225,000 in projected revenue in 2010, that's what.

As stated in the article, the Expo Center appeals to an entirely different crowd of people than a more high-profile location like the Dayton Convention Center. Fittingly described as "essentially four walls", Shaw intends to bill the site for "consumer-goods shows", as opposed to the more complex events that its sister site is equipped to cater to. It's good business sense, really: not every structure can -- or should -- be a perfect ten; sometimes, you need a five.

The fact aside that we're leasing this structure from the USATS (at $15,000 a year, which isn't too shabby if the projected income turns out to be right), this seems like a good move for the city's budget. I've always said that a dollar is a dollar (or five bucks is five bucks, etc.), and although 225k a year isn't exactly big bucks by the standards of what it takes to finance a city...well, from pretty much any perspective, it's nothing to be sneezed at, either. What with the recent damage to our county's pocketbook from the windstorms of last year (see previous articles), it's a nice boon.

Of course, the fact that we have this resouce available to us is going to lend a hand to the appeal of the city itself. It's an attraction, plain and simple: a reason for people to come here and check Dayton out. Although it's not really a headline act, every little bit counts. With luck this can offer a nice leg up for the economy and produce future trade at the Expo Center for years to come.