A CONVENTION CENTER? YES, BUT . . . THE ISSUE MAYOR JENNINGS SAYS HE'LL STUDY THE IDEA OF A NEW HOTEL-VISITORS CENTER. OUR OPINION THE CONCEPT APPEARS SOUND, BUT MANY QUESTIONS MUST BE ANSWERED FIRST.(MAIN)

At the encouragement of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Mayor Jennings will likely authorize a feasibility study for the construction of a convention center.

Organized business interests have lately been making a strong case, if not for the need for such a center, then at least for a study of how one might be received. They have argued, for example, that Albany has lost and will lose more conventions to other cities that have recently built convention centers. Those Northeast cities include Providence, Philadelphia, Rochester and Syracuse. But conventioneers that could be coming to Albany, …