Almost a year and a half into operation, how do you evaluate the performance of the Natchez Convention Center?

You can look at the numbers &045; events hosted, hotel rooms booked, participants who have walked through the center itself.

You can look at the number of local events versus out-of-town events &045; the kind that bring new money to town to be spent in hotels and restaurants.

And you can look at how the center itself is being marketed, with CVB staff targeting regional conventions and specific groups.

The truth is, it’s difficult to evaluate success in the first year. The convention center still has to establish itself in the region as a destination for groups, and that takes time.

But if measuring ourselves against similar communities is any judge, we’re on target.

That is to say, the first year is the toughest &045; with the convention center staff trying to market its suitability to out-of-town events and its purpose to local residents. As hard as it is to understand, the convention center was not built for you and me. It is an economic development tool designed to draw out-of-towners who will put the proverbial heads on beds, the gravy of the tourism and convention business.

That said, the center would do well to follow the example of Hattiesburg, which has struck an unofficial partnership with local groups that want to use it. They get penciled in with the understanding that if an out-of-town event is booked far enough in advance, they’ll be bumped. The advantage there is that Hattiesburg residents understand the role of their convention center &045; and there is enough lead time for the local group to reschedule.

But those are details.

With the first year of the Natchez Convention Center well over, the city needs to move into the future &045; reviving the visionary thinking that built the center in the first place. We need a new hotel to help the center grow. We need to think outside the box in terms of marketing, not only for the convention center but for the whole community.

We still have residents who don’t believe this center can be profitable for the community, if not profitable in and of itself.

The future can help prove them wrong.