More than 20 years after it opened, one of the main drivers of New Bern’s downtown economic engine will undergo a name change. A decision that has confused and upset several local leaders.

On July 29, the Craven County Commissioners voted 6-1 to change the name of the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center to the Riverfront Convention Center of Craven County.

The July 29 meeting was a continuation of business from the board’s July 18 regularly scheduled meeting. The continuation meeting was not broadcast on the county’s YouTube channel and there was no agenda posted on the county’s website. 

Commissioner George Liner made the motion to make the name change at the July 29 meeting.

Liner said he made the motion because of calls he had received asking why the county was spending money on a facility that, based on its name, appeared to belong to New Bern.

“The county owns it. The citizens of Craven County pay for it with their taxpayer money,” Liner said. “I felt we should move forward with the name change to reflect that the ownership of that building belongs to the citizens of Craven County. That’s basically why it was done.”

At a budget workshop in May, commissioners asked county staff to bring them a cost estimate for renaming the convention center as well as information on any economic impact the change would have, according to Liner. 

“They found there was no negative impact to the business or to the running of the facility,” Liner commented.

Amber Parker, Craven County human resources director, provided the Sun Journal with a PowerPoint presentation the commissioners viewed at their July 29 meeting.

The estimated cost for the rebranding of the convention center is $40,000, with $10,000 designated for marketing and the additional $30,000 earmarked for facility changes such as exterior and interior signage, according to the PowerPoint.

Liner noted that the costs will be paid out of the county’s hotel occupancy tax collections, which are used in part to fund the convention center.

“Everybody has their opinion," Liner said. "It’s a tax but it’s not coming out of property tax and it’s not coming out of the general fund. “The funding to pay for that is coming out of the room rate tax. We get that from the hotels and it’s divided to the tourism development authority and to the county.”

The minutes from the July 29 meeting are not completed yet and will not be approved by the board until their September 6 meeting. The board’s previously scheduled Aug. 15 meeting has been canceled, according to Alison Newcombe, administrative secretary with the Craven County Manager’s Office.

Commissioner Denny Bucher, who was the only board member to vote against Liner’s motion, said he considered the name change “a waste of money.” Liner said the move would also likely confuse anyone searching for the convention center online.

“People who are looking for a convention center don’t Google ‘Craven County’, they Google ‘New Bern’. So that could be confusing to potential customers,” he commented. 

Bucher said he was unsure why his fellow commissioners moved to make the name change at this time.

“No one could give me a reason, not one person, as to what the advantage of doing this is,” Bucher said. “What are we gaining? If you’re going to spend $40,000 you should gain something and nobody could give me a good reason…The people of this county don’t know or care what name is on that convention center, in my opinion.”

Bucher characterized the decision as a “farce.”

“I don’t know what motivated it, I haven’t been able to get a good answer,” he said. “But it’s something other than good common business sense. I made that point to the commissioners but obviously, I didn’t get the job done.”

New Bern Mayor Jeffrey Odham said the city was not involved in the discussion concerning the name change.

In a letter sent on Aug. 16 to Jason Jones, chair of the Craven Board of Commissioners, Odham wrote that he had “heard from many concerned county residents that live both inside and outside the city limits of New Bern.”

“Clearly, my preference is to leave the current name in place considering I represent the city of New Bern,” Odham wrote. “However, with that aside, from a business and economic standpoint, there is no upside to the proposed rebranding. Changing the name is not going to increase rentals or aid in booking conventions.”

In an interview Wednesday, Odham said he believed the name change came down to one thing — politics.

"The name change is being done for political purposes, regardless of what anyone says," he commented. "It's so commissioners that represent people outside of the city of New Bern can go back and say 'This is your convention center, it has your name on it."

Convention Center Executive Director Tarshi McCoy was at the July 29 meeting and was part of the discussion involving the name change, according to County Manager Jack Veit III.

The Sun Journal has reached out to McCoy for comment.

While the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center has helped bring in tourism dollars, it has also required a significant economic commitment from the county.

The convention center underwent costly repairs following Hurricane Florence. The building received significant water damage on its first floor from the storm surge and rain that poured in through broken windows. The repairs include the removal of the first floor carpets, furniture and wall coverings and the stripping of sheetrock.

The building’s HVAC and electrical systems also had to be replaced. 

The repair costs to bring the convention center back to its pre-storm condition came in at $3,316,129, while additional renovation and improvements to the facility were made totaling approximately $8,134,000, according to Craig Warren, Craven County finance officer.

Completed in 2000, the convention center, which is owned and maintained by Craven County, was opened as the first major convention venue in eastern North Carolina. 

The convention center's annual economic impact on the county was approximately $9 million before Hurricane Florence. In 2019, the economic impact was estimated to be $2 million, according to the Craven County finance office.

Reporter Todd Wetherington can be reached by email at wwetherington@gannett.com. Please consider supporting local journalism by signing up for a digital subscription.