This project, while still very premature, seems like a wonderful fit for downtown. From an outsiders opinion (Oklahoma is way outside!) the existing convention center works just fine for boat shows, dog shows, gun shows, etc. and i suspect that wont change - those types of shows don't really need to be downtown. What needs to be downtown are the ULI meetings, Synnex corps big annual meetings, hosting Michelin, and similar types of conferences that would benefit greatly from being in the heart of downtown. In my opinion, the city consultants that were hired that said downtown didn't need a convention center were absolute right - downtown doesn't need a gazillion sf convention center downtown but it could benefit GREATLY from a smaller more intimate conference center and this wasn't what the consultants expertise. There will always be huge public discourse whenever public/private partnerships are introduced but in my view projects like this can be game changers for communities like Greenville! Look at what Riverplace did for the WestEnd and that was a huge public/private partnership. I truly hope this works out and the conference center and museum end up going along with the hundreds of millions of dollars of mixed use development that will surely follow.