When Public Subsidies Aren't Enough

"Increasingly, cities and development authorities are building and owning the hotels themselves. This has already happened in Chicago, where the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority floated $108 million in tax-exempt bonds to build and own the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. It's being discussed in Los Angeles, where civic leaders believe that only a public or nonprofit entity will be willing to build a hotel adjacent to the odd combination of the successful Staples Center and the unsuccessful Los Angeles Convention Center."