Convention center ballroom makes hotel owners wary. (Cervantes Convention Center at America's Center, St. Louis, Missouri)

While managers of area hotels laud the $120 million expansion of Cervantes Convention Center, many are eyeing its 28,000-square-foot ballroom with mixed emotions.

With a faux starlit ceiling, Axminster carpet and mahogany finishes, the ballroom rivals that found at any hotel.

"The ballroom at America's Center does not concern me, but I'm sure other hotels will question how well the center will live up to its guidelines of not competing," said Sherry McCool, general manager of the Marriott Pavilion Hotel. "There have been (competition) parameters bantered about, but nothing specific has been drawn up about if, and how, it will compete with hotels."

The convention center -- called …