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Contrary to Media Reports, Convention Center CEO Did Not Resign

The San Diego Convention Center Corp.'s chief executive said today that a memo to the board of directors, asking for a meeting on her contractual status, was not a letter of resignation.

"Characterizations in the media that I have resigned are inaccurate," Carol Wallace said in a prepared statement. She said she was willing to do the job for the next 14 months and help shift sales and marketing duties to San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau, or ConVis, a private group.

The memo, dated Friday, said that recent actions by the board made it apparent that some members wanted a change in leadership, and she wanted to talk about the "termination of my contract ... at the next scheduled meeting." She has been CEO of the Convention Center for 20 years.

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Nikki Clay, Convention Center board chairwoman, declined comment. No one in the Mayor's Office was immediately available to talk about what was going on. Mayor Jerry Sanders has pushing for an expansion of the Convention Center.

Area hoteliers are voting on a plan to pay for most of the more than $500 million expansion cost by increasing the tax on hotel rooms.

Those opposed to the ConVis doing the sales and marketing said shifting the duties to ConVis was a way to give hotel operators more control over Convention Center operations.