Bozeman Convention Center Could Have a $9.5 Million Impact

Bozeman Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Daryl Schleim, speaking on the 1450 KMMS-AM Morning Show on Monday, reassured listeners plans for a Bozeman convention center are alive and well.

After years of discussion, the excitement and energy for the project seem to have waned in the early months of 2016. Daryl Schleim informed radio listeners that is not the case. In fact, Daryl noted a meeting the previous Friday between himself and the City of Bozeman's Economic Development team of Brit Fontenot and David Fine.

Fontenot, Fine and Schleim discussed one last push to generate interest in constructing the convention center by talking to the [Bozeman city] commissioners and developers to see if a public/private partnership can be found.

Currently the proposed convention center plans remain on the wish list and not on the need list.

Yet, Schleim remains hopeful:

I still think it's one of the lost gems that we're not putting forward that's out there. The hard part is finding out: How do we make this work as a public/private partnership?

The total projected cost amount is $25 to $27 million. Once constructed and open, Schleim projects a $9.5 million annual economic impact to Bozeman business. But the idea simply hasn't caught on in town, yet.