Cobb‑Marietta authority asks Kennesaw to extend hotel‑motel tax agreement to support convention center renovation

Charlie Byrne, chief executive officer and general manager of the Cobb‑Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority, told the Kennesaw City Council that the authority is preparing a major renovation of the Cobb Galleria Centre and asked the city to sign revised funding and operating agreements that would permit the authority to issue bonds for the project.

The authority, Byrne said, operates the Cobb Galleria Centre (a 320,000‑square‑foot convention center opened in 1994) and the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre (a 2,750‑seat theater opened in 2007). Byrne said the facilities have hosted thousands of events and that the authority is nearing the expiration of existing intergovernmental funding agreements tied to a share of hotel‑motel tax receipts.

Rob (last name not provided), the authority’s chief operating officer, described the current funding formula and the…