Sacramento City Manager John Shirey is touting a proposal to renovate the Community Center Theatre and the Memorial Auditorium that was approved by the city council this week.

But despite that approval, the convention center plan remains up for debate. Mayor-elect Darrell Steinberg and some of the city's business leaders have come out in opposition to the current plan, arguing it needs greater vetting and should be more expansive.

"This is a funny business, this convention center business, because it's the classic chicken or the egg situation," says Shirey. "If you don't have hotel rooms, you can't have a convention center. But you can't get the hotel rooms unless you have the convention center. And so you're forced to grow these in increments."

The proposed $170 million upgrade would nearly double the center's exhibition space.

Listen to Shirey's full Insight interview by clicking on the audio player above.