Sometimes the best ideas are the ones that suddenly make you wonder why nobody thought of them earlier.

Mayor Sharon Cadwallader’s push to investigate building Ballina’s proposed convention centre as part of a redevelopment involving the Ballina RSL has the potential to be a masterstroke.

There is a long way to go. There are feasibility studies to complete, enormous sums of money to find and ultimately governments to convince.

But as a concept, this one makes sense.

The Ballina RSL is one of the town’s most successful businesses and, importantly, it already knows how to do much of what a convention centre needs to do.

It runs functions. It brings acts and entertainment to town. It operates food and beverage services. It manages large crowds and major events.

Its existing auditorium has long been Ballina’s go-to venue for everything from business dinners and awards nights to shows and community events.

But it was built for a Ballina considerably smaller than the community it serves today.

Combine what is already there with a modern, much larger auditorium capable of hosting major conventions, exhibitions, concerts and events and suddenly Ballina could have the venue it needs not just now, but for decades ahead.

And it would have an experienced commercial operator involved from the beginning.

That matters.

Lessons from the Glasshouse

Perhaps the greatest cautionary tale for any North Coast council contemplating a convention and entertainment centre is Port Macquarie’s Glasshouse.

The project became notorious for its cost blowouts and financial controversy, with its final cost dramatically exceeding its original estimates.

Indeed, when Ballina councillors previously discussed their own convention centre ambitions, Cr Cadwallader pointed to what happened in Port Macquarie as precisely the sort of financial risk Ballina could not afford to take. Council simply does not have the money to go it alone.

That is another reason the RSL idea is so appealing.

Having the commercial experience of an established venue operator involved should give Ballina a far better chance of developing something that works as a business, not simply an impressive building that ratepayers are left subsidising.

A convention centre cannot survive on a handful of big conferences each year.

It needs weddings, dinners, shows, concerts, exhibitions, corporate events and all the other bread-and-butter bookings that keep a venue busy.

The RSL already operates in that world.

Right idea, wrong site

There was another problem with Ballina’s original convention centre proposal: the site.

Council had identified the Tamar Street carpark behind Wigmore Arcade, with the suggestion that parking could remain underneath and the convention centre be constructed above.

It always looked like trying to squeeze a very big idea into a very small space.

Parking in that part of Ballina is already under pressure. A 1200-seat convention centre would bring hundreds more people into the CBD at precisely the times restaurants, shops and other businesses also need those spaces.

Even councillors raised concerns about the loss of CBD parking and how parking for a new venue could be provided.

The RSL precinct offers an entirely different proposition.

A major new auditorium could potentially be incorporated above the existing RSL parking area, overlooking one of Ballina’s greatest assets — the Richmond River.

It is difficult to imagine many regional convention centres with a better setting.

And across the road sits another opportunity.

Imagine what it could do to River Street

Cr Cadwallader has pointed to perhaps the most exciting part of the concept: what it could do for the entire block.

The old Hotel Ballina has been sitting disused and deteriorating for years.

It is an eyesore in a particularly unfortunate location — right at the beginning of the CBD that many visitors see as they travel along River Street.

Imagine instead a revitalised riverside convention and entertainment precinct, potentially complemented by new hotel accommodation nearby.

Suddenly one of Ballina’s most tired CBD blocks could become one of its showpieces.

A convention centre needs accommodation. It needs restaurants. It needs parking. It needs entertainment. It needs good transport connections.

Ballina has an increasingly important airport just minutes away and a spectacular riverfront setting.

Put the right convention facility into that mix and many of the boxes start being ticked.

That doesn’t mean this particular proposal will ultimately stack up.

That is precisely why a proper feasibility study is needed.

The good news is that the RSL already has feasibility work underway on its broader redevelopment, and Council is investigating the relatively modest additional cost of having its consultants examine how a convention centre could fit into those plans.

Cr Cadwallader has made clear she is “not prepared to let it go without a fight”.

Good.

The Mayor deserves credit for looking beyond Council’s original site and asking whether there is a better way.

General Manager Paul Hickey and the management of Ballina RSL also deserve congratulations for being prepared to explore the idea properly rather than dismissing it as too difficult.

There will be plenty of time to scrutinise the numbers when they arrive.

For now, they’ve come up with a concept that could deliver Ballina a convention centre, strengthen one of its major community venues and help breathe new life into a rundown section of its CBD.

If the feasibility study says it can work, this could be one of the most important projects Ballina has contemplated in decades.