The Lake County Convention Center will be coming to Gary. The county commissioners Wednesday unanimously chose the city's proposal at the Hard Rock Casino site. It was selected over Hobart's proposed site at Patriot Park.
Commissioner Kyle Allen said the matching funds offered by the state will make the site competitive with Illinois's south suburban casino. "This is the first time in my lifetime that I have ever seen the state of Indiana set aside $100 million in this manner," Allen said. "The project will be transformational."
The proposal includes a 145,000-square-foot building, with a 40,000-square-foot exhibit hall and another 33,000 square feet of meeting space. Hard Rock also wants to build a hotel in the area.
In a statement, Gary Mayor Eddie Melton called it a "historic and monumental day for Gary and all of Lake County." The city says the local match will come from gaming taxes and a $30 million commitment from Hard Rock. They don't plan to ask for an increase to the county's innkeepers' tax.
Commissioner Jerry Tippy cited Hard Rock's experience with similar projects, as well as its financial capacity. "Gary Hard Rock provided two letters from major financial institutions stating that they would provide that financing on the assumption that the proposed matching funds are proven to be available," Tippy said.
In its analysis, Johnson Consulting raised questions with the viability of the Hobart site and its plan to request an increase in the county innkeepers' tax or use TIF revenues to pay for it. It also raised concerns that Hobart's proposed convention center and hotel could be built for the estimated cost. While recommending the Gary site, it also questioned how much of the gaming tax revenue the city promised is actually available and the impact of diverting that money from its current uses.
The selection comes after a massive push from Hard Rock and the city of Gary, including an ad campaign and commitments from convention organizers. Mayor Melton authored the legislation to create the convention center, during his last session in the Indiana Senate.
Randy Palmateer with the Northwestern Indiana Building and Construction Trades Council praised the selection, saying it would be good for local labor. "We have a verbal commitment that a project labor agreement is going to be utilized, hiring local-working tradesmen and women of my council and contractors that they work for,"
It got less of a warm reception from the hospitality union. "Unfortunately, the project that you've chosen has not committed to a fair process for convention center and hospitality workers to choose whether to have union representation, and this is wrong," said Lou Weeks, executive vice president of UNITE HERE Local 1.
The Hard Rock site has also drawn opposition from the mayors of Hammond and East Chicago. They worry it will drive more traffic away from their cities' casinos.
The commissioners said Wednesday's selection is just the first step. Commissioner Mike Repay noted that they still have to work on a development agreement.
"There's still negotiation to be done, and we expect that Hard Rock/city of Gary to be tough negotiators, as we will be as well, to make sure that all of the components of the agreement are met and all of the obligations are met," Repay said.
He argued that the project isn't meant to prioritize one group over another, but one that's meant to benefit all of Lake County.
In a statement, Hobart Mayor Josh Huddlestun congratulated Gary and Hard Rock Northern Indiana on their selection, but he said Hobart also intends to build on the momentum his city's plans helped create in the U.S. 30 corridor.
