SAN DIEGO -- Mayor Jerry Sanders applauded the City Council’s 6-2 vote on Tuesday to create the Convention Center Financing District, a critical step toward expanding the city’s waterfront Convention Center.

The formation of the financing district allows a vote to proceed this spring in which hoteliers will decide if they want to tax their guests, with the proceeds of that assessment being used to pay a large share of the debt service for the construction bonds. The tax must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the city’s hoteliers.

“This vote was an important step toward putting thousands of San Diegans to work – a priority most city councilmembers and I agree should be paramount,” Sanders said. “Along with jobs, this project will generate millions of dollars in new revenues for neighborhood services, like police, fire, parks and libraries.”

Each year, the San Diego Convention Center turns away about a year’s worth of business because it lacks sufficient contiguous space to host the largest and most lucrative conventions.

This expansion is expected to save conventions that are close to outgrowing the center, as well as lure more and larger conventions – generating an additional $12.7 million in hotel room taxes.

The project also will generate 4,000 construction jobs and 7,000 permanent jobs in San Diego.