The sale of the Fort Discovery science center will leave a vacant, two-story, 128,000-square-foot piece of prime real estate on the riverfront.

It has been mentioned as a possible location for a planned trade exhibit and event center. But Barry White, the president and CEO of the Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the idea doesn't seem viable for several reasons.

"The space itself is not conducive to what we're looking for," said Mr. White, who said important qualities for a TEE center include column-free space and 30- or 40-foot ceilings.

"You might be able to convert part of Fort Discovery," Mr. White said. "To get someone to build a hotel is extremely difficult and expensive." He said adding a hotel could cost tens of millions of dollars.

Mr. White told members of the Augusta Commission's TEE center subcommittee Thursday that the best site still is adjacent to the existing convention center inside the Augusta Marriott Hotel & Suites on Reynolds Street.

Other sites that have been mentioned are the James Brown Arena, the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame property and the former Watermark site.

Commissioner Joe Bowles, a member of the subcommittee, said he thinks the original location at Reynolds Street is the best place for the TEE center.

The Fort Discovery site would be ill-suited because without an adjacent hotel, it would be difficult to book the kind of conventions the city envisions because it would be tougher to sell blocks of rooms.

"Without that bargaining power, we won't be able to sell conventions because the hotels could sell the rooms to anyone they want," Mr. Bowles said.