City officials say that the largest convention in the history of Sacramento is coming to town, bringing millions in revenue with it.

Downtown hotels, restaurants and other businesses are hoping that the new deal struck with the Jehovah’s Witnesses will bring in more than 200,000 more visitors to conventions held every weekend between Memorial Day and Labor Day for the next five years.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said that the deal was 18 months in the making.

“We’re not going to sit on our hands even though it’s a down economy,” Johnson said. “Be aggressive, initiate relationships, talk to people that perhaps aren’t mainstream.”

The religious organization has booked three large rooms at the Sacramento Convention Center for church services over eight weekends each summer. They’re expected to pump in nearly $90 million, making it the larges convention in the city’s history.

“They are the big fish in a small pond, and we treat them that way,” said Steve Hammond, CEO of the Conventions and Visitors Bureau.

Hotels are happy they’ll have bookings during the summer, and smaller businesses like Café La Bou say they rely on conventions to keep their doors open.

“You have a combo of [the] Legislature out of session and 100 degree temperatures,” said Brenda Miller, director of sales at the downtown Hyatt. “Sacramento has a bit of a challenge, but anytime we can fill in summer groups it’s great for us.”

If the Jehovah’s Witnesses are pleased with all that Sacramento has to offer, it’s possible they could extend the agreement for 15 or 20 more years.

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