An eye sore

T HE ill-fated convention centre in central Palma could be demolished because there is simply no funds to complete it. At the moment the half-completed project is a like a monument to the recession and the end of the years of spend, spend and spend. It is an absolutely enormous building far too big for Palma´s needs. Initially it was said that conventions of up to 2'000 people could be taking place in Palma every week. This is a ludicrous statement. As we all know during the winter months there are hardly any flights and getting 2'000 people to Majorca for a single event would probably take a week! I think the lesson from the convention centre is that size does matter. It was simply too big and far too costly. The government has already spent in excess of 20 million euros on the project and all this money is set to be lost. Palma does need a convention centre but it should be just a third of the size of the one which was being planned. If you look along the sea-front by the Can Pere Antonio beach now, you have two abandoned buildings, the convention centre and the former headquarters of the Gas and Electricity Board. This sight is the one which greets tourists when they first arrive. Whatever the final outcome it is vital that the Balearic government and the Palma city council acts quickly and decides what they want to do with these two buildings. It would be a great shame if they were to continue in their present state. An eyesore on our sea-front.