April 16--Mayor Rahm Emanuel's last-ditch effort to keep the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Chicago comes at a cost: tearing down McCormick Place's Lakeside Center and its substantial exhibit space.
Loss of the Lakeside Center would be a blow for some of the city's trade shows, notably the biennial International Manufacturing Technology Show, the city's largest. The massive exhibition, which occupies the entire complex and is booked through 2022, can draw more than 100,000 visitors from more than 100 countries, packing hotel rooms, restaurants and taxis.
A number of major medical conferences also use Lakeside Center, including those of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Radiological Society of North America. The medical professionals who attend those shows tend to be big spenders who are prized by the city's hospitality industry.
"It could certainly cause a major challenge," said Steve Drew, assistant executive director of RSNA, whose annual show draws more than 55,000 attendees from around the world. The scientific assembly uses the Lakeside Center's exhibition space, meeting rooms and the Arie Crown Theater.
The latest Lucas Museum plan would replace the lost convention center capacity, but the Emanuel administration so far has not said where the new space would go, how much it would cost and who would pay for it. Emanuel spokeswoman Kelley Quinn declined to offer specifics, saying such details would be provided in next few days. .
A source close to the administration said the city is looking at options tied to borrowing against future revenue the museum would generate for the city at the current McCormick site, such as parking fees.
The Lakeside Center and the adjoining underground parking facility are built on Chicago Park District land. Under a lease that runs through 2042, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority pays rent on an escalating scale, totaling more than $48 million over the term of the lease. The new museum proposal raises the question of whether the taxpayer-supported Park District would lose that revenue stream.
It would appear difficult for the agency that governs McCormick Place to come up with more money.
