Attendance, usage days and bookings were all down sharply at the Vicksburg Convention Center in October, November and December — the first quarter of the fiscal year — said Larry Gawronski, executive director of VenuWorks, which manages the city-owned facility.

“This was one of the most underperforming quarters we’ve had,” Gawronski told the convention center and auditorium’s advisory board at its quarterly meeting Wednesday. “The numbers speak for themselves.”

While both facilities had been staying ahead of the curve during the recession, event attendance was off 38 percent, usage days were down 22 percent and bookings dropped 44 percent in the three-month period compared to the previous year. Gawronski attributed the declines to six fewer events held at the convention center, as well as the overall economic conditions.

“We’re in a horrible, horrible market right now,” he said, noting many organizations and groups are opting to trim back or cut out conferences and banquets — normally the most steady revenue stream for the center built on Mulberry Street downtown 14 years ago.

The decline in usage and attendance caused the convention center to fall short of total revenue estimates by 42 percent in the first quarter. However, lower than anticipated spending on expenses, which ran 18 percent below budget, meant the convention center kept its operating deficit 2 percent under budget.

Convention center and auditorium operations are subsidized by city funds, which contributed $342,291 to the venues last fiscal year. A 2 percent tax levied on all hotel, motel and bed and breakfast stays in the city also benefits the facilities, and is expected to bring in $440,000 this fiscal year. However, hotel occupancy rates also took a nose dive in the first quarter, dipping below 40 percent for the first time in years, causing the lodging tax to net approximately $92,000 — about 33 percent below the $140,000 it was expected to generate over the quarter.

Gawronski, whose city contracts contain incentive clauses, said the convention center is diversifying its offerings, but continues to focus on conferences and banquets because public shows continue to be unprofitable. A Jan. 23 Larry The Cable Guy performance is an example. The comedian drew in about 1,800 — only 200 shy of a sellout, but not enough to make the show profitable.

“The promoter, I can assure you he lost money,” said Gawronski, noting the convention center nonetheless managed to make a slight profit and shared some of the earnings with the promoter to offset losses. “He needed a sellout in order to get out of it alive, and the 200 tickets that went unsold were the difference between him making money or not.”

A June 2008 B.B. King concert had similar results. Only about 1,300 tickets were sold, which was set up to hold up to 2,100, leaving the promoter in the red, said Gawronski. The center staff will begin distributing customer surveys and holding meetings with the board of directors, Chamber of Commerce and mayor and aldermen to get a better feel for the kinds of events locals would support at the venue, Gawronski said. A final report will be compiled by the end of the year, he said.

Quarterly numbers at the Vicksburg Auditorium looked much better in the three months closing out the 2009 calendar year.

“The auditorium is doing gangbusters. It’s $15,000 over (budget expectations) for income, which is 100 percent better than we anticipated, and expenses were 13 percent below budget,” Gawronski said. “We’ve found if one venue is down, it seems the other is doing well.”

The better numbers at the auditorium were due in part to a change in the V105.5 Christmas Caroling Contest finals, which moved from the convention center in 2008 to the auditorium in 2009. Combined, the convention center and auditorium hosted 54 events in the first quarter, compared to 56 events the fiscal year previous.

A total of 186 bookings were logged at the convention center and auditorium from Sept. 1, 2008, through Aug. 30, 2009 — down from 211 total events in fiscal year 2007-08. Event usage days dropped to 205 days from 253 days.

Also Wednesday, the convention center and auditorium board of directors presented a $2,000 check to the Ronald McDonald House in Jackson, which benefits each year from the convention center’s Breakfast with Santa event. The breakfast drew in about 600 people in 2009, about twice the normal turnout. Last year’s donation to the Ronald McDonald House was $1,750. The Ronald McDonald House in Jackson aids families with seriously ill children. It will celebrate 21 years in May, and has housed about 170 Vicksburg families since its inception, said Melanie Roach, who accepted the donation on behalf of McDonald’s.

*

Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com