State Representative James Fagan, chairman of the House Post Audit Committee, has said that he plans to meet with House Speaker Thomas Finneran to ask Finneran's permission to conduct an investigation. "The speaker is giving it serious consideration," Charlie Rasmussen, Finneran's spokesperson, tells GlobeSt.com.

Massachusetts Convention Center Authority spokesperson Andy Antrobus tells GlobeSt.com that the MCCA will cooperate with an investigation. "We understand that people have questions," he says, "and we look forward to providing some answers in the near future." Antrobus adds that the furor over the convention center has to be seen in light of its timing--right after the Big Dig's cost overrun problems.

Recent reports state that various cost estimates over the past two years should have alerted officials to a potential budget overrun on the convention center project. Only three of those projections were reportedly produced, with the last one after it was already clear that there were serious problems. Project manager, Walter Upton, who did not return calls by presstime, is quoted as saying that he decided to ignore most of the cost estimates because he didn't think they were necessary. He added, there was an awareness of the potential problems with the budget.