A pitch for a Kamloops convention centre has city council’s interest, but there’s no commitment to the plan just yet.

Tourism Kamloops presented the idea city council, March 31, suggesting an $89-million facility could bring $14 million in tourism spending every year.

“These convention centres are going to happen either way, whether they’re in Kamloops or otherwise,” Tourism Kamloops CEO Erik Fisher told council.

The marketing agency partnered with Sc.wenwen Economic Development Corporation, a business arm of Tk’emlups te Secwepemc, to study a potential hotel and convention centre in the Kamloops area.

Fisher said downtown Kamloops would be the best location, and some city councillors agreed.

Coun. Kelly Hall suggested the old Thompson Park Mall, currently the Lansdown Village mall, but there’s currently no earmarked location.

Fisher said people heading to business conferences typically spend more than the average tourist, but finding space for a conference of more than 200 people can get “squishy” in Kamloops.

The proposed Kamloops convention centre would include an 18,000 square-foot ballroom, fitting up to 1,200 people. Along with smaller spaces, the centre could rent space for up to 2,000 people, and it’s also envisioned to include a hotel.

Council made no commitment other than to work with Tk’emlups and Tourism Kamloops in the future to plan for what a potential convention centre could look like, but Fisher proposed that an ideal model would be a public-private partnership with the City of Kamloops retaining ownership.