DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — A plan to build a new Durham Convention Center is taking another step forward. A study finds that the current meeting space downtown is too small. The building has played host to meetings and events for over three decades, but Susan Amey with Discover Durham says the current convention center is undersized. "What we have confines us to pretty small meetings," she said. "And so the footprint and the impact that they can have is proportionately pretty small." City leaders are taking this as an opportunity to bring in more visitors. "We're the fourth largest city in the State of North Carolina, 75th largest city in the United States," Durham Mayor Pro Tempore Mark-Anthony Middleton said. "But, no disrespect, places like Wilmington and New Bern have larger convention center space than Durham." First look inside the Lenovo Center, formerly PNC Arena in Raleigh Instead of renovating and expanding the existing Durham Convention Center, a feasibility study recommends a brand new one that includes more space.  The cost to build a new convention center itself is projected at $315 million. Plans also add a connected 500-key hotel costing well over $200 million. A consultant presented the findings to the City Council Thursday afternoon. "You are outmoded, outdated, and in a small building relative to who you are as a destination," Hunden Partners CEO Rob Hunden said. Plans show the size of the convention center would bump up from just over 30,000 square feet to 186,000 square feet. That would potentially quadruple the number of visitors each year.  That idea is aimed at supporting local businesses while lifting the local economy and creating jobs. "This is another way of bringing more people in and making it that kind of bustling urban center that we all enjoy," Amey said. "This is something that doesn't just benefit the convention goers who come to it, but it’s something that the community can enjoy." A site for the new convention center has yet to be identified and there's no word yet on what would happen to the old building. City officials said the next steps include figuring out funding sources. The newly established Durham Next partnership includes a group of local leaders taking lead on the project.