A $26 million conference center could be coming to Paso Robles

Paso Robles leaders are exploring plans for a $26 million conference center, to be built by 2021 on the grounds of the Paso Robles Event Center, home to the California Mid-State Fair.

The idea of a San Luis Obispo County conference center was floated in April 2017 in a market study prepared for Visit SLO Cal, the region's destination marketing group.

An economic feasibility study for a Paso Robles conference center followed, producing a report that provides specifics for a facility in the city.

The 16th District Agricultural Association — which owns the event center and puts on the California Mid-State Fair — is collaborating with the city and Travel Paso to study and potentially develop the conference center.

A facility would likely be located at the Paso Robles Event Center to take advantage of its parking, existing buildings and nearby hotels, Michael Bradley, fair and Paso Robles Event Center CEO, said on Wednesday.

The envisioned 19,500-square-foot structure would feature a large ballroom, meeting rooms, a board room and additional space, according to the report.

Danna Stroud, executive director of Travel Paso, said the conference center would help the city attract mid-week and off-season business travelers who might return for vacations.

"These business travelers end up turning into leisure travelers," she said.

Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin said a conference center would generate continued revenue and benefits for the city in the form of visitors and jobs.

The report estimates the facility would create 181 jobs during construction and 159 new jobs during the following years.

"We are now pioneering the future in Paso Robles," Martin said.

Bradley could not say where on the Paso Robles Event Center grounds the facility would be located. A diagram included in the report shows the Riverside Avenue parking lot across from the grounds as one possible site, along with an area in the far northwest corner.

Funding for the conference center has not yet been worked out, but leaders hope to create a partnership between the city, state and private sector, Bradley said.

He compared the planned facility to the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center on the edge of the Cal Poly campus in San Luis Obispo, which was built through a partnership between the university, San Luis Obispo and the nonprofit Foundation for the Performing Arts Center.

Following additional studies, leaders would solicit construction bids in early 2019, and hope to complete the facility by 2021.

This story was originally published June 20, 2018 at 5:30 PM with the headline "A $26 million conference center could be coming to Paso Robles."