News
DECC leaders bring good news to city after money woes
DULUTH, Minn. (Northern News Now) — After some financial uncertainty that led to a large loan request, DECC leaders share that the popular convention center is doing well.
DECC leaders said last year’s events brought thousands of people through its doors, but while the building was doing well on the outside, the facilities inside were failing. In the end, the process of fixing DECC’s failing facilities racked up a bill of more than $600,000.
Add to that the unexpected bill and rising inflation, and the unfortunate series of events has left the popular venue short of cash.
“Last October, maybe even August, we realized we were facing a cash flow problem,” said Dan Hartman, the DECC’s executive director. “I approached the city council about getting a line of credit. That line of credit was to help us get through our cash flow.”
Shortly after coming to town looking for a financial cushion before the start of last year’s fall entertainment season, the Duluth City Council approved the $1 million loan requestAny money borrowed by DECC must be repaid to the council by October 1, 2024.
Hartman said his ultimate goal was to not touch a penny of the money, which is almost a year later.
“We probably won’t use a single dollar of that loan we applied for last year,” Hartman said.
In 2024, DECC saw an 8% or $400,000 revenue increase.
“Well, it’s a huge relief to have DECC on solid financial footing,” said Terese Tomanek, vice president of the Duluth Council.
Tomanek said the DECC has positive economic impacts on the city, especially as convention centers continue to be a highly competitive business in the Midwest.
“People are traveling a little bit more, but they’re not traveling to the coast,” Tomanek said. “They want to stay in the Midwest for their conventions and meetings, and this is the perfect place to have them.”
DECC members are proud to bring good news to the city after a difficult time.
“I am very excited about the future of DECC,” said Hartman.
As for what will happen to the unused $1 million line of credit, city leaders say the money will essentially go back into their general fund.
Click here to download the Northern News Now app or our Northern News Now First Alert weather app.
Copyright 2024 Northern News Now. All rights reserved.