"We lose a significant amount of business due to the reality of our convention room block," Beck said. "Outdoor Retailers, which is really unique for our destination … generates $17.5 million from 22,000 attendees for five days. We conservatively estimate a new hotel would allow us to add three additional national conventions a year … with about 10-15,000 attendees."

Beck's group provided information to a study done on the topic last fall, conducted by H&R Valuation Services, Inc., that concluded a new, 1,000-room hotel was the solution to garnering more convention business and would, in fact, bring new business to all the Salt Lake hotels, including those located outside the downtown core.

Bruce Fery, executive vice president of Grand America, said he was surprised his company was never contacted by the company who compiled the report, and questioned the economic data generated by the study.

"We've experienced a significant downturn since the time this study looked at the hotel market here," Fery said. "And, that trend is continuing downward as we speak."

Fery, who is a member of the county's advisory committee, said an adjustment reflecting the current market conditions would likely result in a much less optimistic fiscal evaluation of the impact of a new convention-focused hotel.

The property owned by Holding, especially Block 40, has long been eyed by public entities for a variety of uses.

In 2000, the federal government pursued it for the expansion of the federal courthouse, and in 2002 Salt Lake County considered it for new district attorney's offices. Both were rebuffed, however.

In 2005, Salt Lake City and Real Salt Lake came to a tentative agreement with Holding to purchase the block south of Little America to build a soccer stadium. At the time, the land was valued at over $15 million. The deal fell through when the city could not finalize the funding for the soccer stadium's construction.

E-MAIL: araymond@desnews.com