What most Tucsonans call "The Gem Show," formally the Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase, is about 40 separate shows taking place at hotels and exhibition spaces scattered around the city. Together, the February shows comprise the showcase, the largest event of its kind in the world, but there is no coordinator and no organizer - save capitalism.
The promoters compete fiercely, and many complain that the city doesn't offer support commensurate with the $100 million a year in spending that the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau (MTCVB) estimates the shows bring to the city. The promoters want the city to provide shuttles, free parking, better signs and laws prohibiting price gouging.
As evidence of commitment, city officials talk about the downtown hotel construction project and its scheduling deference to the gem show. They point to plans for a modern streetcar to run from the west side of Interstate 10 to the University of Arizona. They point to finishing construction for a wider interstate ahead of schedule to accommodate the shows; they point to new downtown restaurants.
In consultants' documents, the timeline for the hotel slated to adjoin Tucson Convention Center is told in neon green bars and triangles: one for this demolition, one for that concrete pour, one for this gem show and another for the gem show the year after.
The goal for constructing a new south-side main entrance to the convention center is to be done pre-gem show and the target for bond sales and demolition of the old entrance is to begin post-gem show. The point, after all, is holding conventions (and making money from them), and Tucson's main claim is on the rocks.
The promoter of the show's most prominent gem display is threatening to pull out if no hotel materializes and now Tucson's cash cow event has folded into the narrative of Rio Nuevo, becoming both reason and outcome in the community argument over how to revitalize downtown. For the future of the event in Tucson, that could cut both ways.
A recent presentation to the City Council on the gem shows began with the declaration from MTCVB representative Felipe Garcia that over the past five years, the city has lost $230 million in would-be taxable spending by failing to land about 245 potential conventions because of outdated and too-small convention facilities. Although only two of the showcase's shows are held in the convention center, calls to the city manager's office about the gem show are forwarded there.
The elements promoters mention for improvement overlap little with the topics cited by elected officials, whose careers hinge on the perception of downtown success. But the mentality, hardened by prioritizing forced by hard economic times, cemented Oct. 6, 2009.
Douglas K. Hucker, CEO of the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA), stood before the City Council and said, "If we do not see progress on a hotel and on upgrading the convention center, we will leave as quickly as we can."
Mayor Bob Walkup, in response, declared the $239 million hotel and convention center project the current headliner of the city's struggling downtown redevelopment efforts "the kind of thing we almost cannot afford not to do."
It's unclear, however, whether Tucson can afford it. Officials are scheduled to receive updated information on the financial feasibility and projected economic impact of the hotel in December, with financing plans rolling out in January or February.
City Manager Mike Letcher has said he would not recommend a plan in which the city's general fund a pool of discretionary monies used to pay for police and parks, among other things would be used to pay off the debt.
In the Oct. 20 City Council meeting, Letcher said, "This hotel is publicly financed by the revenues generated by the sales tax and bed tax from the hotel. Those revenues will pay for the hotel. We're not going to move ahead if, in fact, those revenues are not sufficient enough to cover the debt service. We're not going to use our general fund monies to cover this. All of the initial numbers that have been worked indicate that the hotel will pay for itself and in the out years will generate money that will come back to the city since we own it." (** See projections below.)
But because of legal restrictions on the Rio Nuevo district, the entity technically overseeing the development, the city's general fund would ultimately be on the hook if projections don't bear out. The fund has served as collateral for Rio Nuevo bond issuances so far, and a consultant's report surveying the likely financing options points to city backing as the most promising route going forward.
One point on which there is little ambiguity is that Tucson will not lose all of the gem and mineral shows at once. The chances of the entire show leaving anytime soon are "nonexistent" in the words of Kimberley Schmitz, spokeswoman of MTCVB. At least a dozen of the promoters echo her sentiment.
When Hucker demanded the convention center expansion and hotel, he spoke for his organization alone. Few other groups would benefit directly from the construction, and more than a couple promoters said they would be happy to fill AGTA's spot should it decide to bail.
Some of the story is geography. Tucson is not far from several mines and dig sites important to mineral and fossil collectors. Many promoters and dealers have bought warehouses in Tucson and opened shops here. The operators of the Pueblo Gem and Mineral Show even bought the hotel that hosts their show, The Riverpark Inn.
History and legend also conspire to keep the show here. Every promoter interviewed for this article predicted that the international reputation of the 55-year-old show will continue to draw visitors even if a trade group as large as AGTA were to pull out.
Mineral buffs, especially, downplay the significance of AGTA's threat.
"It started as a mineral show and that will continue even if the gem dealers leave," said Thomas Moore, editor of The Mineralogical Record, which in 2008 described the Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase as "the Greatest Show on Earth."
However, AGTA's leaving wouldn't be without consequences. It is what Schmitz calls a "cornerstone show," a major component of the showcase as it now exists. Promoters agree the show is a top earner, and AGTA already does a show in Las Vegas, the most likely destination if promoters do decide to head out.
The mayor refused to discuss the implications of AGTA backing out. "I'm not going to let him leave," Mayor Walkup said of Hucker, "City support is always improving" based on post-show conversations the biggest promoters have had with officials.
As for direct support for the shows, MTCVB puts up a gem show website, prints a show guide and, during construction on Interstate 10 last year, the city paid for vans to shuttle show attendees among participating locations.
Despite pleas for continued shuttle service, the vans won't run this year. City officials say that given the sour economy, they can't pay for it. Promoters negotiating to share the cost of a private shuttle say no deal has been reached yet. Vendors are protesting the vans going to locations that sell similar goods. Albeit, 2010's gem shows continue on.
Tucson's gem shows run from January 30 through February 14. Find contact information for most of the shows via MTCVB's website, www.VisitTucson.org/gemshow.
**Estimated numbers from the May 2009 pre-development agreement from Starwood Hotels - the company contracted to operate the downtown Sheraton
Average daily rate in 2012: $138.31
Average daily rate in 2017: $180
Occupancy in 2012: 58.1%
Occupancy in 2017: 72%
Total revenue from the hotel in 2012: $29.2 million
Total revenue from the hotel in 2017: $44.9 million
Cost of developing hotel: $167 million
Cost of renovating the convention center: $38.7 million
Cost of developing the parking deck: $33.2 million
