Recent heavy rains caused planters at the Hawai‘i Convention Center to leak, forcing the closure of its main garage entrance on Kalakaua Avenue after the ceiling got saturated and a seam started to fall.
Teri Orton, general manager of the convention center, said she has requested emergency funds from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority to shore up the entryway so that the facility is safe and so that guests will not have to undergo the inconvenience of circling several blocks to access the back entrance off Atkinson Street.
This newest repair comes as officials already are moving forward on plans to spend $64 million to fix an unrelated leaky rooftop terrace deck, which will shut down the convention center in 2026 to “citywides,” the industry term for large events that spread business across multiple venues, as well as offshore events and the growth of corporate and local business.
“We already have a project manager for the rooftop repair and we are going through a (request for proposals) to select a construction company,” Orton said. “The time period of the construction has been estimated at Jan. 1 to Nov. 1, 2026, and we are anticipating that the last two months of the year will be the punch list. We’ve moved all citywides off the books.”
During the construction in 2026, the convention center will run a modified opening schedule allowing some weeknight and weekend events to take place in the exhibit halls and mauka side meeting rooms. According to Orton, HTA has pledged to keep the center’s 125 employees on the payroll during construction, although some of their duties may change.
She is now requesting another $55 million to fast-track 15 other projects that were already approved as part of the center’s six-year capital improvements plan, or CIP, especially those that address additional leaks outside of the rooftop terrace deck, which have encroached on the parking garage and even from time to time caused flooding at the loading dock.
Orton said the center is not requesting the full $89 million needed to complete the 15 projects, as it already has some funding for these projects, which she wants to complete during the rooftop’s construction cycle instead of extending center closures, which would cause further revenue declines.
Additional funding
Daniel Naho‘opi‘i, HTA interim president and CEO, said he is waiting to hear back from Isaac Choy, the tourism authority’s vice president of finance, on the status of the emergency repair funding request for the parking entry ramp.
Naho‘opi‘i said the convention center is starting 2026 with a repairs and maintenance cash fund balance of more than $9.6 million. He said Gov. Josh Green already has authorized expenditure ceilings for repairs and maintenance of more than $7 million in fiscal year 2026 and $5 million in fiscal year 2027.
However, Naho‘opi‘i said HTA is now requesting an additional $1.97 million for the center’s enterprise special fund’s expenditure ceiling in fiscal year 2026, and has asked to advance $5 million from fiscal year 2027 to fiscal year 2026, bringing the total fiscal year expenditure ceiling to more than $12 million.
He said if the expenditure ceiling request, along with HTA’s CIP request of $52 million, are appropriated, HTA anticipates spending more than $55.4 million on convention center repair and maintenance projects in fiscal year 2026 and more than $16.7 million in fiscal year 2027.
“These funds will be allocated to complete high-priority repairs and maintenance projects during the scheduled closure of the convention center in 2026. The objective is to fully capitalize on the closure period by addressing critical infrastructure needs,” he said. “A significant upfront investment is necessary to facilitate the timely procurement and awarding of construction contracts, ensuring project completion within the designated time frame. In all, the additional funding for the convention center is important to our effective stewardship of this important state asset through repair, maintenance and replacements.”
Naho‘opi‘i added that “HTA is actively collaborating with HCC management to develop a contingency plan should full funding not be secured.”
Orton said fast-tracking the projects is proactive and an attempt to avoid racking up further repair bills and damage to the convention center’s reputation. The protracted timeline to repair the leaky rooftop terrace deck has cost the center hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and potentially impacted new bookings, she explained.
The center also needs to repair its third-floor exterior planters, which caused the new garage leak, she said. Drywall renovations, parapet roof repairs, slate tile repairs, gutter and soffit repairs, as well as exterior and interior painting also are needed.
Upgrades include improvements to the center’s LED lights, digital signage and house sound system, as well as to the boardroom and to food and beverage venues such as Cafe 808 and the 1801 Lobby renovation.
Orton said the center’s 12 aging escalators, which break down during most large events, are another pressing issue.
“If the escalators are down, it’s hard to move 4,500 people in 15 to 20 minutes because the elevators aren’t big enough,” she said. “We actually pay to keep the escalator company on site during a large event so that we don’t have to wait for them to drive from other areas to service our equipment.”
Lag in future bookings
While 2025 is a strong year for citywides largely because of events that were rescheduled during the COVID-19 pandemic, Orton said the convention center already is behind its citywide targets for 2027 and beyond, so further construction disruptions could take a toll. She said COVID-era cuts to the center’s marketing budget have meant that center sellers have had less reach.
She said that so far, 11 citywides are on the books for 2027. During a good year, she said, there would already be 15 or 16 citywides on the books at this time, which would put the center in reach of meeting the ideal annual goal of 25 or more.
In 2028 and beyond, Orton said advance bookings for citywides are in the single digits.
“We have our work cut out for us. It’s a bunch of things. Funding for marketing was reduced during COVID and hasn’t been restored. There have been impacts from the 2023 Maui wildfires and of the recent wildfires in Los Angeles,” she said. “We are in a very competitive market. Our facility needs to be first-rate.”
Keith Vieira, principal of KV & Associates, Hospitality Consulting, said there is an urgency to Orton’s requests, especially those dealing with water intrusion.
“Things are expensive, but we have to keep up the convention center, which is crucial to offshore spending. They are also hosting events like volleyball and pickleball to drive usage, as their goal is not to run at an operational deficit,” he said. “They’ve done a good job.”
Strong revenues
Despite its lingering capital improvement challenges, the convention center during fiscal year 2024 achieved its best revenue performance since its opening in 1998.
Orton said the facility’s gross revenue was $28.9 million in fiscal year 2024, compared with a budget of $18.4 million. That was an increase of 57%, or more than $10.4 million, over expectations. Orton added that net income amounted to $3.4 million, exceeding fiscal-year budget expectations by $8.7 million.
“These are the best results in the convention center’s history,” Orton said. “Through the years, the average revenue attained has been about $16 million. We’ve almost doubled the revenue for the building since ASM Global took over” center operations.
She said the results were largely from the combination of citywides and offshore business, and growth of corporate and local business. Food sales also surpassed expectations, and the center has been creating new products to diversify its business.
Vieira said reinvestment and repairs are needed to keep the center’s financial results positive and to bolster demand from the convention, incentive, meetings and events market, which tends to draw higher-spending visitors.
Jerry Gibson, president of the Hawai‘i Hotel Alliance said, “It’s important to keep up with the Joneses. There are beautiful convention centers nearby in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and it costs more to come here. We have to keep up with our renovations or customers won’t be willing to pay more to come out here.”
Vieira said when large groups fill the convention center and nearby hotels, lodging companies across the state benefit from compression, which increases demand and supports higher room rates.
Gibson added that most attendees also are booking pre- and post-trips, often to a neighbor island.
“We get a double bump out of this business,” he said. “These large conventions serve so many people that we want to make sure that we have all of our oars in the water when it comes to attracting these groups.”
