Convention hall sees success, looks to grow

Encouraged by the steady growth in its bookings, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center officials yesterday took a key first step toward an expansion of the $700 million, three-year-old South Boston hall.

The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, which runs the center, said it will invite consulting firms next week to submit by Sept. 5 a master plan for developing 22 vacant acres on the 62-acre site.

When the facility was designed and built in the early years of this decade, state officials envisioned adding another 200,000 to 300,000 square feet to its 516,000-square-foot footprint, along with support facilities such as a parking garage and second hotel.

"We always anticipated that there would be a phase two of the BCEC project when the building proved to be as successful as we hoped," said authority board chairwoman Gloria C. Larson, a Boston attorney. "The building has exceeded our expectations, and it is the right time to explore what we should do with the undeveloped portion of the property."

Rather than ask architectural firms to design an addition to the convention hall, Larson said the authority wants companies to take a broader, longer view of why, when, and how the convention hall should expand, through an overall master plan for the 62-acre parcel.

Measuring how the center is meeting projections is difficult because the original 1990s forecasts were based on building a 600,000-square-foot building and were made before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks jolted the convention and travel industries. About 84,000 square feet were trimmed from the design to keep the convention center project on budget.

Authority executive director James E. Rooney, however, said that from 2010 onward, "from a practical perspective, we have sold about as much as we can in that building in the peak periods. We cannot host another major event in the spring or fall" beyond what is already booked, Rooney said.

Winter is considered a hard time to sell Boston to out-of-town conventioneers because of the threat of blizzards disrupting air travel, and summer tends to attract more budget-minded fraternal organizations and fewer corporate meetings. The center last year hosted 145 events that drew 370,000 attendees

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino backed the call for a master plan.

"Since the BCEC opened three years ago, Boston has bolted to the top of the convention industry," Menino said in a prepared statement. "In order to ensure our competitive position, however, we need to be looking toward the future. Now is a good time to think about what the best next steps should be and how any new development at the BCEC would fit into the overall pattern of waterfront development."

Daniel O'Connell, Governor Deval L. Patrick's secretary of housing and economic development, said he envisions the master plan recommending either "to expand the BCEC or develop the land in another way that benefits the convention industry." O'Connell wouldn't be more specific.

Another factor encouraging city and state officials to consider expanding the center is that, after a 22-year-absence, Boston has made the top 10 list for US convention cities published by Tradeshow Week, an influential industry magazine.

The official "request for proposals" to develop a master plan will be available at noon a week from today through the massconvention.com website.

Peter J. Howe can be reached at howe@globe.com.