The event would be a coup for Cleveland, which will celebrate the 100th birthday of the West Side Market in 2012. The city is competing against London, Toronto, Seattle and Charleston, S.C.
Cleveland has been selected as one of five finalists to host an international conference focused on public markets in 2012 -- the year of the West Side Market's 100th birthday.The cities are finalists to host more than 300 people in 2012 for several days of discussions, events and tours sponsored by The Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit group based in New York.
For Cleveland, winning the eighth International Public Markets Conference would be a coup, bringing the city a wave of food-focused attention just as the venerable West Side Market marks its 100th birthday.
Occurring every few years, the International Public Markets Conference attracts market operators, planners, architects and food-policy junkies from the United States and other countries. Past host cities include New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
"It's one of those conferences where the symbolic value is almost more important than the economic impact," said Ken Silliman, chief of staff to Mayor Frank Jackson. "It sends the message to the country that Cleveland was chosen to host an event focused on public spaces and markets."
If the conference comes to Cleveland, it likely would occur in the fall, possibly in sequence with Mayor Jackson's fourth annual sustainability summit and the culminating events of a yearlong celebration of the West Side Market. The Jackson administration has designated 2012 as the year of local food, a theme that will influence the city's sustainability efforts for 12 months.
In October, the city of Cleveland and Ohio City Near West Development Corp. filed an application to host the public markets conference. After sorting through roughly 20 proposals, the Project for Public Spaces recently tapped Cleveland and the four other cities as finalists. The group hopes to choose a final location early next year.
"Every one of the finalists has the ability to pull this thing off," said David O'Neil, a senior associate with the Project for Public Spaces.
O'Neil and other representatives from the organization are in Cleveland this week to discuss plans for the neighborhood around the West Side Market, an area being refashioned as the Market District. Thursday, they visited the mayor's office to talk with public officials and tourism boosters about topics including the conference.
The event likely would require sponsorships and local assistance. O'Neil declined to comment on the cost of the conference, which can vary depending on the host city. Silliman said that conversations so far have centered on Cleveland's attributes, rather than sponsorships, donations and costs.
"Where Cleveland does very well with conventions and with sporting events is that we don't take them for granted," Silliman said. "Somebody agrees to come to Cleveland, and we shower them with attention and affection. ... If you look at it in terms of scale and size, you might think we can't compete. But for events like this, I think they want to see the community embrace the event and really fit it into the community, in a way that a city that holds uncounted numbers of conventions each year cannot. That's a competitive advantage for Cleveland, and you can be sure we made it clear that that's a competitive advantage."
Eric Wobser, executive director of the Ohio City Near West group, pointed to the prominence of the West Side Market and the growth of the Market District. By late 2012, public and private sources expect to spend nearly $40 million in the neighborhood, on projects including an improved Market Square Park, revival of vacant properties along West 25th Street, a new brewery, stores, restaurants, events, public art and better signs.
The West Side Market continues to be the subject of rhapsodic accolades from sources including the Food Network and the Travel Channel. Spurred by the 100th birthday, a commission appointed by Mayor Jackson is evaluating everything from the condition of the building to the neighborhood, from the mix of vendors to the market's hours. The prospect of change has brought the market even more attention, as outspoken vendors and the city debate the best ways to preserve and promote a unique landmark.
City Councilman Joe Cimperman, whose ward includes the market, said the historic building and its tenants make the market the ideal centerpiece for an international conference. "That's not competition," he said of London, Toronto, Seattle and Charleston. "If you want Disney, go there. If you want real life, come here. We are a thriving market. It's not just a tourist attraction. It's not just a place where you go to take a picture of somebody throwing a fish."
Cleveland's effort to lure the public markets conference here has garnered support from Charter One, a bank that is funding neighborhood revitalization in Ohio City; development-funding group Neighborhood Progress Inc.; the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition; and Positively Cleveland, the local convention and visitors bureau. All of them wrote letters supporting Cleveland's application to the Project for Public Spaces.
Positively Cleveland has worked with the Ritz-Carlton at Tower City and the Hyatt Regency Cleveland on Superior Avenue to set aside potential hotel rooms and conference spaces for the event.