The
Convention
Center
Authority
is
composed
of a
12-member
board
of
commissioners,
nine
appointed
by
the
Governor
of
Louisiana,
and
three
appointed
by
the
Mayor
of
New
Orleans.
The
gubernatorial
appointees
serve
at
the
pleasure
of
the
Governor,
while
the
Mayor’s
appointees
serve
four-year
terms.
According
to
NOMCC’s
website,
as
one
of
America’s
leading
destinations
for
conventions
and
tradeshows,
NOMCC
event
activity
has
produced
$37.86
billion
in
economic
impact
since
its
1985
opening,
including
$2.09
billion
in
new
tax
revenue.
While
recognizing
the
need
to
re-establish
New
Orleans
in
the
market,
the
success
of
recent
events
such
as
the
NBA
All-Star
Game,
the
NCAA
Football
title
game,
the
return
of
Essence
Festival,
and
a
host
of
other
major
events
at
the
Center
suggest
that
people
are
finding
their
way
to
New
Orleans
in
spite
of
the
Convention
Center’s
false
claims
of
being
at a
competitive
disadvantage
in
trying
to
promote
New
Orleans
because
of
the
name
of
the
facility.
Those
very
same
arguments
were
advanced
by
the
late
Merv
Trail
on
behalf
of
the
business
community
during
the
initial
debate
about
naming
the
building
in
honor
of
Dutch.
It
was
point
out
then
that
the
Jacob
K.
Javits
Convention
Center
in
New
York,
McCormick
Place
in
Chicago,
and
the
Staples
Center
in
Los
Angeles
among
others
all
seem
to
overcome
the
challenge
of
not
having
its
facilities
after
the
city
in
which
they
are
located.
In
1992
the
Louisiana
Legislature
past
legislation
which
officially
authorized
the
legal
named
of
the
Exhibition
Hall
Authority
to
honor
the
memory
and
contributions
of
the
late
Ernest
N.
“Dutch”
Morial,
New
Orleans’
first
African
American
mayor.
That
fact
was
historic
enough,
but
the
legislature
believed
that
this
was
an
appropriate
designation
particularly
because
of
Dutch’s
role
is
assuring
that
the
Center
would
be
constructed.
When
Dutch
campaigned
for
mayor
in
1977,
economic
development
and
job
creation
was
the
main
trust
of
his
platform.
Concerned
that
the
Rivergate
which
until
that
date
had
served
as
the
hub
for
conventions
and
conferences
had
become
too
small
for
the
growing
size
of
major
conventions,
Morial
and
other
business
leaders
believed
that
the
construction
of a
new
and
larger
facility
was
paramount
to
the
growth
of
New
Orleans
economic
development.
Several
potential
sites
were
debated
before
settling
on a
12
acre
track
owned
by
the
City,
but
the
big
question
that
remained
was
how
such
a
project
would
obtain
financing.
Many
vowed
that
“the
convention
center
would
never
be
completed.”
One
business
leader
even
put
his
prediction
in
writing
on a
yellow
slip
of
paper
and
handed
it
to
Dutch.
Never
to
back
down
from
a
challenge,
Dutch
saved
that
yellow
scrap
of
paper
as a
reminder
of
the
doubters.
Dutch
focused
on
the
newly
created
Urban
Development
Action
Grant
(UDAG)
developed
by
President
Jimmy
Carter’s
Administration.
The
City
set
out
to
seek
$20
million
in
UDAG
funds
by
using
the
undeveloped
Sheraton
Hotel
as
the
local
private
sector
leverage
requirements
combined
with
a
mix
of
proposed
local
taxes.
After
several
attempts,
the
project
seemed
doomed
following
several
rejections
of
the
City’s
application.
The
States-Item,
one
of
New
Orleans
local
newspapers
proclaimed
that
Dutch
had
put
the
all
of
the
city’s
eggs
in
the
UDAG
basket
and
had
failed.
Undeterred
Dutch
remained
steadfast.
He
continued
to
press
HUD
and
then
Secretary
Moon
Landrieu,
who
had
preceded
Dutch
as
mayor
of
New
Orleans.
After
gathering
a
large
delegation
of
local
and
state
leaders,
he
was
successful
in
lobbying
Congress
for
an
increased
funding
of
the
UDAG.
Soon
all
of
the
stars
would
line
up
and
New
Orleans
received
a
$17.5
million
UDAG
award,
it
was
at
that
time
the
largest
UDAG
award
ever
granted.
According
to
Anthony
Mumphrey,
“In
the
meantime,
the
hotel-motel
tax
was
passed
and
the
state
funding
was
arranged
using
the
1984
World’s
Fair
need
for
a
building
to
house
the
Louisiana
Pavillion
as
the
vehicle
for
state
participation.
The
facility
was
completed
on
time
to
host
the
Louisiana
Pavillion
in
1984.
It
has
since
been
expanded
into
today’s
configuration
and
making
it
one
of
the
most
successful
convention
center
in
the
world.
Mayor
Sidney
Barthelemy
led
the
efforts
for
the
additional
expansion.
A
review
of
recent
history
reflects
that
while
most
community
leaders
supported
the
initial
efforts
to
dedicate
the
facility
in
honor
of
Morial,
there
was
some
opposition
from
certain
members
of
corporate
New
Orleans.
A
December
8,
1992
letter
written
by
Warren
Reuther
to
Mrs.
Sybil
Morial
and
then
Senator
Marc
Morial
seems
to
document
that
debate.
He
wrote,
“When
the
idea
of
changing
the
name
first
came
before
the
New
Orleans
Exhibition
Hall
Authority,
the
Board
had
discussed
how
many
fine
people
were
involved
in
making
the
Hall
a
reality.
After
looking
into
and
better
understanding
exactly
what
Dutch
had
to
personally
do
in
order
for
the
Convention
Center
to
be
built,
I
now
realize
that
the
name
that
is
now
on
the
building
is
the
name
that
should
be
on
the
building.
The
Convention
Center
in
New
Orleans
is
most
deserving
of
his
name.”
The
Louisiana
Legislature
appropriately
recognized
his
accomplishments
and
this
week’s
announcement
is a
replay
of
that
initial
debate
under
the
disguised
of
marketing
and
branding
the
New
Orleans
name.
"For
us
to
get
New
Orleans
into
the
title
is a
positive
thing,"
said
Melvin
Rodrigue,
newly
named
president
of
the
Ernest
N.
Morial
New
Orleans
Exhibition
Authority,
the
board
that
runs
the
convention
center.
"New
Orleans
is
what
most
people
associate
with."
This
battle
may
also
be
an
extension
of
the
battle
to
re-make
New
Orleans
following
the
devastation
of
Hurricane
Katrina.
Christopher
Cooper,
staff
report
of
The
Wall
Street
Journal
in
his
September
8,
2005
article
quoted
James
Reiss,
chairman
of
the
Regional
Transportation
Authority
and
a
descendent
of
an
old-line
Uptown
family
as
saying,
“The
new
city
must
be
something
very
different,
…with
better
services
and
fewer
poor
people.
"Those
who
want
to
see
this
city
rebuilt
want
to
see
it
done
in a
completely
different
way:
demographically,
geographically
and
politically,"
he
says.
"I'm
not
just
speaking
for
myself
here.
The
way
we've
been
living
is
not
going
to
happen
again,
or
we're
out.
He
says
he
has
been
in
contact
with
about
40
other
New
Orleans
business
leaders
since
the
storm.
Tomorrow,
he
says,
he
and
some
of
those
leaders
plan
to
be
in
Dallas,
meeting
with
Mr.
Nagin
(Mayor
C.
Ray
Nagin)
to
begin
mapping
out
a
future
for
the
city.”
To
date
there
has
been
no
public
disclosure
of
what
was
discussed
or
of
who
attended
that
Dallas
meeting,
but
the
implications
seems
to
indicate
a
reversal
of
New
Orleans
racial
mix.
Since
the
Dallas
meeting,
New
Orleans
have
witnessed
attacks
on
many
fronts
to
reduce
the
influence
and
numbers
of
Blacks
living
in
its
community;
creating
barriers
for
Katrina
survivors
to
cast
a
ballot
during
election;
the
attempt
to
rename
schools
honoring
African
Americans
heroes;
the
demolishing
of
public
and
affordable
housing;
the
continuing
debate
over
the
future
of
Charity
Hospital
which
served
low
income
citizens;
attempts
not
to
rebuild
the
city
east
of
the
Industrial
Canal
(Lower
9th
Ward
and
East
New
Orleans,
predominately
African
American
communities)
based
on
the
suggestion
of
plans
proposed
by
the
Urban
Land
Institute
and
some
members
of
the
Bring
New
Orleans
Back
Commission;
the
firing
of
7000
teachers
and
para-professionals
and
takeover
of
the
public
school
system;
merging
and
elimination
of
offices
held
by
Black
officials
and
the
list
continues;
rumblings
of
moving
to a
system
of
merit
appointed
judges;
and
the
insensitive
design
of
the
Louisiana
Road
Home
program
which
was
created
to
aid
homeowners
in
the
recovery
of
their
homes.
In
the
Wall
Street
interview
Mr.
Reiss
added
that
“The
power
elite
of
New
Orleans
--
whether
they
are
still
in
the
city
or
have
moved
temporarily
to
enclaves
such
as
Destin,
Fla.,
and
Vail,
Colo.
--
insist
the
remade
city
won't
simply
restore
the
old
order.
In
human
rights
lawyer
and
law
professor
Bill
Quigley’s
Lesson
From
Katrina:
How
to
Destroy
an
African
American
City
in
33
Steps,
he
could
have
added
step
34,
attack
Black
New
Orleans’s
symbol
of
hope.
Who
is
next,
the
Louis
Armstrong
International
Airport?
On
March
27,
2008,
newly
elected
Governor
Bobby
Jindal
announced
his
new
appointments
to
the
Center’s
governing
board.
They
are
Melvin
Rodrigue,
who
has
served
on
the
Convention
Center’s
board
since
2005,
was
appointed
president.
The
governor’s
appointees
also
include:
Jay
H.
Banks,
James
“Jim”
Besselman,
Klara
B.
Cvitanovich,
Anthony
Dileo,
J.D.,
Edward
D.
Markle,
Frederick
W.
Sawyers
III,
Carroll
Wilson
Suggs,
and
James
Bryan
Wagner.
For
more
information
on
the
Ernest
N.
Morial
Convention
Center,
contact
center
officials
at
(504)
582-3027
or
E-mail:
rmortillaro@mccno.com.
