A “successful” year for the 10-year-old Vicksburg Convention Center has led to discussion about an expansion that could come as soon as next year, Larry Gawronski told advisory board members Wednesday.

Gawronski, director of Compass of Vicksburg, said Mayor Laurence Leyens has talked about a bond issue that could provide an expansion and hotel near the convention center’s downtown site.

“The city has said, ‘Show me you need an expansion.’ We’re almost at capacity,” Gawronski said.

Compass is the contract management firm for the convention center and Vicksburg Auditorium. The company is paid an annual fee plus performance incentives to manage the $10 million convention center, bonds for which were paid off in 2006.

“We’re on the verge of talks of a potential expansion in 24 to 48 months and a tie-in with a hotel development,” Gawronski said, “which exponentially would return a greater investment.”

This year, although characterized by Gawronski as ” a year of successes and near misses,” has the numbers that show room for growth.

“We continue to fight the good fight and build on our successes,” he said.

The successes — meetings and conventions — bring overnight guests unlike the “near misses” — concerts and spectator events — that he said “continue to underperform.”

“We have to pick and choose our battles,” he said.

Attendance was up from 54,145 in 2005-2006 to 59,085 this past fiscal year, reflecting a 9 percent increase.

“That’s an all-time high. That’s almost the pinnacle of what we can achieve,” he said.

Economic impact for the year was $5.3 million, which is based on the increased attendance and direct spending of $2.3 million. The city operational supplement was $360,000, including the 2 percent lodging tax collected at area hotel rooms, this past year.

“That’s where the proof is in the pudding. That’s actual money the city has to pull out of their coffers to fund the center,” Gawronski said. “I don’t know anybody who would not want to invest in that. It’s easier to see why the city has a solid investment.”

Advantages of a hotel near the convention center have been discussed since even before the Mulberry Street facility opened in 1997. With the exception of the Horizon Casino Hotel, most rooms are on the city’s Interstate perimeter. Gawronski said in July that doubling the size of the convention center would put it in a situation where it could support a nearby hotel.

This year, the convention center had major expenses, such as changes to its air conditioning system, including additional equipment in the exhibit hall and upgraded HVAC and lighting control systems, said Norman Ford, director of business and operations for the convention center and auditorium. Even with the capital purchases, the center came in under budget this year by about $71,000, he said. “This was due to the sales efforts. We had a lot of convention and trade shows. And, we’re trying to control our expenses,” he told the board.

While event usage and income at the center continued to rise throughout the year, Ford reported lower income and higher operating costs at the Vicksburg Auditorium on Monroe Street, used as an alternative for area events.

The auditorium “was out of service for almost a month due to the (collapsed retaining wall that caused there to be) mud and water in the dressing area,” he said. “That affected our income and the expenses didn’t stop, which put us in a bad state with the budget.”

In Gawronski’s report, he told the board that the upcoming fiscal year will be “one of restructuring the organizational chart, redefining job descriptions and fine-tuning in order to operate leaner and meaner by corporate mandate.”

Board chairman Bobby Bailess said Wednesday’s reports by staff members and repeat business the center has retained reassured him of the “incredible kind of satisfaction the clientele expresses.”

“If you put on the kind of show that the Vicksburg Convention Center puts on, these kinds of people are going to come back and tell others,” he said. “I’m excited about it. I’m excited for the convention center, and I’m excited for the City of Vicksburg.”

The convention center’s largest event each year is the Miss Mississippi Pageant. Otherwise it is booked for smaller conventions, with 40 to 400 people attending, meetings, banquets and trade shows.