Port Money Sought for Meydenbauer Expansion

BELLEVUE, WA-The City of Bellevue has asked the Port of Seattle for funds relating to the proposed 48,000-sf expansion of Meydenbauer convention center, which is losing ground to competing facilities that already have expanded. Earlier this week, the city council approved a letter to the Port “communicating the city’s interest in exploring this financial relationship.”

Meydenbauer Center currently consists of a 36,000-sf exhibition hall, 12,000 sf of meeting rooms and a 410-seat theater. The city believes an expanded center would improve the facility’s operating performance and be a key driver for economic development in East King County, which provides the Port of Seattle with about 25% of its funding. It would serve the meeting needs of local businesses, attract more convention visitors to our region and satisfy national and regional demand for larger convention and meeting space, according to city officials.

Initially, the city is asking for the port to split the cost of a $250,000 feasibility study. In a memo to the council, planning director Matt Terry says the analysis “would evaluate what we believe to be true-–that our joint participation in this effort will create jobs, properly reposition the center, support eastside businesses, improve Meydenbauer Center’s financial performance, and represent a sound business proposition for both entities.”