The Coast Coliseum may finally get a hotel on its property, Biloxi official announces

Councilman Kenny Glavan announced Tuesday that Embassy Suites has an agreement to build a hotel at the Coast Coliseum and Convention Center.

But Coliseum executive director Matt McDonnell said the deal isn’t finalized.

“No deal yet,” McDonnell said. “We’re still working on a contract for a land lease that would allow us to get a hotel built adjacent to the Convention Center,” he said.

Glavan told the city council he doesn’t think it is fair to other hotel properties on the Coast that the new hotel would get all the leads first from convention business.

“Leads should be distributed to all hotels as soon as they come in and allow all hotels to bid on the business,” he said. He is area director of hotel operations for Biloxi Lodging, which owns and operates Margaritaville Resort Biloxi, White House Hotel Biloxi, Sleep Inn & Suites Gulfport and Watermark Biloxi Hotel & Suites.

The Coliseum Commission has worked for years to get a hotel built adjacent to the convention center. McDonell said any agreement would first have to be approved by the Harrison County Supervisors.

Tourism officials say South Mississippi is losing business because many groups and companies won’t bring their conventions and events to the Coast Convention Center without a hotel on site.

This story was originally published February 20, 2018 at 3:13 PM with the headline "The Coast Coliseum may finally get a hotel on its property, Biloxi official announces."