But that’s all I know. I browsed the promotional booklets for this city of a quarter million. I wandered the pavement a few blocks from the hotel. Little Portsmouth with its 20,000 residents, for my money, had more to offer visitors. A day later I was home in New Hampshire.

This particular event was attended by historians from most every state. Just before the evening banquet, a woman noticing I was from Portsmouth, asked: "Have they built that new convention center downtown yet?"

"Not yet," I admitted. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe two are planned in what developers call the "northern tier" of the city and locals call the North End.

"Too bad," she said. "I was hoping to bring my group there next year."

Cheerleader that I am, I plugged the local lodging sites and restaurants and things to do.

"We can’t wait to see it all, but we bring over 800 people for a week. We need a convention center like this," she said, gesturing around the cavernous room. Maybe next time."

And so, untold thousands of tourist dollars, once again, did not find their way into the Portsmouth economy. Hundreds of dinners were not served and glasses of beer not imbibed. Hundreds of gifts and theater tickets were not purchased. Local musicians were not heard, artwork not admired, tours not taken, tax dollars not collected.

Which is too bad, because Portsmouth is poised to become one of New England’s premier convention destinations. We’re among the nations top heritage sites, a "Distinctive Destination" according to the National Trust of Historic Properties. We are what most big cities are not, highly walkable. From the North End, visitors can easily stroll through most of the city, touring the winding waterfront streets, the colonial South End, Market Square, the waterfront and parks. It’s just a hop to the malls on either end. Restaurants, shops, galleries, bars abound. People are nice here. There are no desolate and fearsome areas, no really horrific traffic, no buzzing copters, few screaming sirens.

Yup, this little city has pretty much everything a visitor could want – except a convention center, and the parking to go with it. I don’t know beans about politics, but I can see a missed opportunity. Bigger cities are redesigning and rebranding and rebuilding their centers to draw conference customers who stay briefly, spend, and go home. Often they return for vacations. If pleased, they spread the word. Far-sighted cities are looking to create attractive environments that don’t come close to what we already have.

Certainly we have nice conference locations now, and smaller groups are booking those facilities. But just as a mall needs an anchor store, the big fish – the larger convention planners – want to see larger dedicated centers. The lot next to the Sheraton Harborside fits the bill, and was designed for that purpose during urban renewal decades ago. The Portsmouth Parade Mall, among the ugliest sprawling buildings in the city, is the perfect spot for a convention facility. The Discover Portsmouth Center, newly opened just blocks away, is ready to greet visitors and point them to myriad cultural events and venues in town. The chamber of commerce, organized and efficient, can guide convention planners to their every need.

I’m not getting into the politics here, and why we’re dragging our feet with the convention center like we did for decades over our gorgeous new library. Politics isn’t my thing. I’m not going to take on the old argument that Portsmouth will become unlivable if too many visitors arrive. We’re just not dumb enough to allow that. No one wants to turn this city into Vegas. Most of us are here because we love the mix of culture, history, and scenery. But we’re too few in number to afford the lifestyle we love without sharing it, for a fee, with visitors, and especially with the kind of visitors that conventions bring.

I’m just pointing out that as many as a thousand historians and museum managers who met in Rochester, NY last week are not coming to Portsmouth next year for their convention. They and their dollars are going somewhere out West. -- JDR

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