The City of San Antonio expects a $40 million dollar boost to the local economy from its largest conference ever.
The Convention and Visitors Bureau is expecting 65,000 international guests for the 10-day Seventh-day Adventist General Conference at the Alamodome.
“The Seventh-day Adventist Conference we actually booked almost ten years ago," the bureau's CassandraMatej said, adding that this conference, as large as three Alamo Bowls, has to book early because there are just a handful cities in the country with facilities large enough.
“And we’re one of them. And we were competing and the two finalists were Indianapolis and San Antonio,” Matej said.
She said for large conferences, the CVB creates a group resume and liaises with local businesses such as restaurants that may need to increase staffing or extend their hours to accommodate more diners.
“We also are the liaison with other city departments, such as the San Antonio Police Dept. There have been numerous traffic-control discussions and making sure that people can walk from the convention center to the Alamodome. We’ve also engaged with Solid Waste. The fact that a group this size means we want to be prepared for trash," she said.
VIA has made a special transit pass available to attendees for $28 that allows them unlimited rides throughout the conference.
Matej said more than 200 countries will be represented at the event. She said downtown, the Riverwalk and other venues are expected to be extra crowded for the duration of the conference, which runs through July 11.
Check the VIA bus schedule for the conference: http://www.viainfo.net/Communication/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=2563
