PITTSBURGH — The David L. Lawrence Convention Center is looking for ways to maximize its value, and it’s getting some help.
On Thursday, during the monthly meeting of the Sports & Exhibition Authority, the board approved the authorization to hire consulting firm Conventions, Sports & Leisure International (CSL) to “develop a comprehensive business plan” for the convention center.
The authorization included agreeing to pay CSL’s $175,050 fee for the plan.
Tyler Othen, a project manager for CSL, gave a short presentation outlining the process for gathering data for building a business plan.
Othen said that CSL has done similar projects with convention centers in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Tampa Bay and saw similarities in Pittsburgh. Some of the main strategies he said should be explored are: Naming rights sponsorships, creating premium spaces within the convention center, bringing in rent-paying tenants and hosting new events.
He pointed to convention centers in Cleveland and Detroit, which had both sold naming rights to Huntington Bank. He said Cleveland gets about $500,000 a year for their deal, while Detroit gets about $1.5 million.
Click here to read more from the Pittsburgh Business Times.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
