Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau officials confirmed Tuesday they are in talks with organizers of several conventions that have been displaced by the mighty storm. Those organizers are shopping around for new locations after their plans were washed away by Katrina's high winds and heavy rains.

And while extra conventions would be good news for the city's bottom line, the bureau is taking steps to make sure it doesn't come off looking overly opportunistic.

"We want to make sure we receive our fair share of that displaced business, but at the same time we don't want to be predatory," bureau vice president for sales and marketing Mark White said.

The bureau said it has worked out a deal with downtown hotel owners to donate some profits from windfall conventions to Katrina relief.

"The hotels have generously kicked in," said Mark Bennett, spokesman for the bureau.

All across the United States, local leaders are looking to book conventions displaced by the hurricane. Cities like New Orleans and other Gulf Coast locales are unable to hold conventions, and other places, like Houston, are using their convention centers to house evacuees.

In Salt Lake City, bureau staff are in talks with several convention organizers who may want to relocate to Salt Lake City. Convention staffers are examining their existing slate of conventions and finding holes where they might be able to plug in displaced groups.

"Certainly, in the short term, there will be some opportunity," Bennett said.

While most of those talks are confidential, one group that is looking at Salt Lake City is the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Bennett said.

The 75th Annual SEG International Exposition, which draws geophysicists from across the globe, is supposed to be held at Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center Nov. 6-11.

Currently the convention center is being used as a makeshift evacuee home for displaced Gulf Coast residents and is unavailable for convention use. Houston officials are, however, hoping the center will be ready by November.

"At this time the George R. Brown Convention Center is scheduled to be in full operation Oct. 1, 2005," convention center managers said in a letter to the SEG. "We recognize the importance of updating you concerning your November convention as soon as information from our mayor's office is available. We feel very comfortable that we will be able to accommodate your convention Nov. 6-11, 2005."

Still, with circumstances so uncertain, convention planners are in talks with Salt Lake officials about the possibility of moving the convention to Utah if Houston isn't an option.