St. Louis Convention and Visitors Board President Kitty Ratcliffe, left, looks on as construction workers remove part of the Seventh Street Skybridge, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022, in downtown St. Louis.
By Laurie Scriven, Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS — The embattled regional tourism director is stepping down from his post amid growing concerns about sales, employee morale and management of a downtown convention center expansion.
Ratcliffe
The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission announced late Tuesday that Kathleen “Kitty” Ratcliffe will retire Aug. 31, about 10 months before her contract expires, and a search for her replacement is expected to begin soon.
The decision comes after Ratcliffe struggled for years as the public face of the troubled convention center expansion, a taxpayer-funded project that has run way over its original budget and is unclear whether it will ever be completed.
The announcement was also welcomed by Mr Ratcliffe, who had criticised the expansion plan as being too small, ineffective and irresponsibly run.
“The CVC is in a mess right now and it needs to be fixed,” said St. Louis County Councilman Ernie Trakas (R-District 6). “This is a positive step.”
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Trakas said next steps should include a state audit of expansion spending.
But committee members praised Ratcliffe’s 18 years of service. In a written statement, they recalled his work supporting the local hospitality industry through the 2007-2009 recession and its aftermath, negative publicity following the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, the city’s troubled crime rankings and the pandemic that brought the tourism economy to a virtual halt.
“Kitty’s work ethic and dedication to growing our tourism community is admirable – it’s what’s been needed for the last 18 years,” said Steve O’Loughlin, a leading local hotelier and chairman of the committee.
But in recent weeks, that has changed.
On June 1, after Mayor Ratcliffe said in April 2022 that the first phase of the expansion project was expected to save at least $8 million, it was reported that budget overruns had increased costs by $7 million and depleted nearly the entire city’s reserve fund.
During a virtual meeting that was mistakenly made public on June 2, committee members called for Ratcliffe’s removal, citing sales and operational issues and staff morale problems. Committee members did not provide further details afterward.
But it was later reported that the number of hotel room reservations secured by the commission — a key metric for measuring the performance of its sales team — was still well below pre-pandemic figures, even as other cities reported full recoveries. The St. Louis Area Hotel Association called the statistics “deeply disturbing.”
The Post-Dispatch reported Monday that despite years of effort and political wrangling, the convention center expansion won’t make St. Louis more competitive in the way leaders once envisioned.
A study of floor plans from nine cities that were considered competitors when the expansion was first planned suggests the current project will place America’s Center in roughly the same ranking as it was in 2016 when it comes to exhibit hall, ballroom and meeting room space.
Meanwhile, the St. Louis County Council was scheduled to hold a public hearing on July 9 to question convention center officials about issues surrounding the expansion.
Republican Councilman Mark Harder, who represents the 7th District, said Tuesday that the plan is still in the works and that Ratcliffe and other council members involved in the expansion plan have been invited to attend.
“I don’t think Kitty Ratcliffe will be there, but hopefully the others will,” he said.
The Convention and Visitors Board is expected to honor the remainder of Ratcliffe’s contract, which expires next June. The separation agreement cannot be immediately reviewed.
Ratcliffe received $384,783 in 2022, the most recent year for which data is readily available.
See life in St. Louis through the lens of Post-Dispatch photographers. Editor: Jenna Jones.
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