Conventions are great for downtown Austin. They bring in people that fill local downtown restaurants, bars, and stores and they help local businesses thrive. They help keep downtown well-populated and busy, they create tons of downtown jobs, and their tax dollars help fund downtown improvements. With just a few thousand people currently living downtown, it's non-residents who keep downtown alive.To attract conventions to Austin, it really helps to have large anchor hotels to hold all of the attendees. This is one of the reasons that the City originally spearheaded and funded the development of the Hilton . . .