7,000-member Sam's Club convention to come to town. (Sam's Club National Manager's Convention; Tampa Bay, Florida)

20,000 room-nights will be needed

TAMPA

Tampa is about to land a major piece of convention business - the 7,000-member Sam's Club National Manager's Convention.

Sam's Club, a Wal-Mart subsidiary, is planning to bring its convention here next February and possibly for the following three years. It was finalizing the deal earlier this week with the Tampa Convention Center and the Tampa/Hillsborough Convention and Visitors Association.

The deal, sealed in part by a letter of intent to the Convention Center from the Bentonville, Ark.-based company, would book the entire facility for 16 days from move-in to move-out. The convention itself is a seven-day event and is scheduled from Feb. 5-11.

Because the city has no "convention hotel" per se, the booking has required extensive collaboration among …