The Queenstown Lakes District Council confirmedits favoured site is Lakeview, on a terrace above the central business district, but other options have been identified, on public land on Gorge Rd and Stanley St.
Lakeview was favoured because the site allowed for future expansion and could support an adjoining hotel, casino and retail development, according to a public discussion document.
Christchurch Airport chief executive and Queenstown businessman Jim Boult described the council's decision yesterday to consult the public over the proposed convention centre as an ''enormously positive sign''.
Mr Boult said the unanimous support of councillors ''shows the council is continually progressing'' the centre, which would cater for up to 750 people.
Reports prepared for the council indicated the centre would generate between $22 million and $36 million in income for the Queenstown Lakes district annually and drive demand for 466 fulltime jobs.
During yesterday's extraordinary council meeting, Wakatipu ward councillor John Mann expressed concern about the proposed size of the centre. In an interview with the Otago Daily Times after the meeting, he said he was worried the resort's population might not be able to support what was proposed.
''I think overall it will be positive, but ... will it be sustainable?''He also said he would ''like it smack bang in the middle of the CBD'' as opposed to the council's preferred option of Lakeview, which was above the town centre.
After the meeting, council chief executive Adam Feeley said final advice from consultants was ''if we were spending the money and were to say no to Lakeview, say no to the other two [options]''. Mr Feeley said a centre at Lakeview would ''interact with the CBD''.
''The CBD needs some stimulus and the stimulus needs to be large-scale.''
While the consultation phase advances the project, councillors raised concerns about funding and the size of the project. Wakatipu ward councillor Cath Gilmour noted: ''We are not necessary saying we all agree 100% with the proposal''.
Cr Mann said he did not think anyone was completely happy with what has been proposed and said he was not alone in his concerns about the scale of the centre.
There were three funding options outlined in the report:
1: Council fund the $39 million shortfall - assuming central government contributes $10 million - and delivers the centre which would result in an annual debt-servicing commitment of $2.6 million per annum over a 25-year term.
2: Have the private sector fund the centre and lease to the council, resulting in an annual lease payment of $3.2 million for the 25-year term.
3: Council to enter into an agreement with a private consortium to deliver the centre, together with mixed use development which could include a casino, high-end hotel, retail and entertainment, public spaces and residential development.
The council favours the third option, previously announcing a consortium led by Ngai Tahu Property Limited and Morrison & Co, with SkyCity Entertainment as the preferred operator.
A spokeswoman for the Minister for Economic Development Steven Joyce said the Government's preferred option would be to put in ''the least amount of capital as we can so as to minimise risks for taxpayers''.
''No decisions have been made by the Government at this early stage. As we said earlier this year, the Government is not ruling out putting some money into a Queenstown convention centre project.''
The council will begin district-wide consultation from next week, including delivering a proposal summary to every household in the district and conducting a phone survey next month.
