"The only thing that was sort of agreed to right now is there will be a hotel element," Dayton said. "There is not agreement that there is a restaurant element. And there is not agreement that the county has paid enough or the city has paid enough."

The Salt Palace expansion comes at a time when the overall convention marketplace is declining, according to a report issued this month by the Brookings Institution.

"Currently, overall attendance at the 200 largest trade show events languishes at 1993 levels," the report said. "Localities, sometimes with state assistance, have continued a type of arms race with competing cities to host these events, investing massive amounts of capital in new convention center construction and expansion of existing facilities."

The report further noted that many cities have seen their convention attendance fall by more than 40 percent since the peak years of the late 1990s.

"In city after city, the new private investment and development that these convention centers were supposed to spur has simply not occurred," the report said. "Local decisions to invest in a new or expanded convention center or hotel typically rely on consultants' market or feasibility studies that portray a growing, expanding industry. . . . Where, as in the last two years, there is clear evidence of a changed market environment."

But Binger said the Salt Palace expansion plans have already resulted in concurrent bookings. Four conventions — the Healthcare Convention and Exhibitors Association, the Society of American Foresters, Regional Airlines Association and National Association of Orthopedic Nurses — have been booked with another confirmed convention.

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