Armstrong comes through with $3M grant for Convention Center

State Sen. Gib Armstrong has committed $3 million in contingency funds for the struggling convention center.

Chairman of the Convention Center Authority Board, Art Morris, said that Armstrong finally promised the funding in a phone conversation between the two on Monday afternoon.

The $3 million will be granted specifically to the Convention Center Authority and need not be shared with Penn Square Partners, he explained.

Morris went on to say that he "has been assured" by Armstrong that an additional $1 million in requested state funding is also in the pipeline for the Convention Center Authority.

The funding comes at a critical time for the LCCCA. The project is over committed by just over $1 million as of September 31, according to the Authority's accountant, Steve Geisenberger.

Morris said that the commitment of state funding gives the authority "a decent shot at completing the construction portion of the project... within the present projections."