The Hawai‘i Convention Center may have turned a corner on a difficult course, a sign of progress. It has been a long time coming, and the state can ill afford to lose momentum.

Center General Manager Teri Orton said the facility is anticipating gross revenues of $24.1 million, including $1.4 million of interest income. Balancing that against exponentially rising expenses, the center is looking at a year with a $1 million net loss.

This may not sound great, but it’s actually encouraging news — given that the net loss is only about a quarter of what was budgeted. And the update comes at an opportune moment, with the approach of the legislative session next week.

Although the “offshore” business — the mainland and international conventions — has not fully bounced back, the overall revenue picture is about as rosy as it’s been since the facility first opened in 1998.

That’s because the management has filled in much of the gap by booking local events from businesses and organizations that often need amenities the convention center can provide.

Lawmakers should sit up and take notice of this show of initiative, and continue to support it with enough funds to maintain the center properly. The Hawai‘i Convention Center was built at a cost of $200 million, a significant investment of taxpayer funds.

They have not protected that investment. Years of delays in making repairs to the leaking roof has caused deterioration. This predictably led to a $64 million bill for major repairs, finally approved in the past session.

That particular entry in the state’s capital improvements ledger sat unpaid in 2022, as the fights over the future of the Hawaii Tourism Authority raged on. The failed strategy was to fund only a small portion for temporary repairs.

It’s been an embarrassment to the state. Leaks, causing ponding and mold, affected multiple rooms that should have been available to large conventions on the facility’s calendar.

Not exactly a picture that helps with marketing the state to convention planners around the country.

Of course, the center was built at great cost with the expectation that large events could be booked there. The development of an alternative, in-state event roster has been insufficient until recently. And there were lean years when offshore business was slow to nonexistent — in recessions, and through the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Orton told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the rosier revenue picture this year is a combination of improving bookings in larger events, with enough visitors needing accommodation at multiple hotels, and growth in local business — hosting the Okinawan Festival and Comic Con Honolulu, for example.

As for the large “citywide” events, the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts &Culture, set for June 6-16, is seen as a bright spot.

Credit ASM Global, the building operator that took over a decade ago, for diversifying the strategic business plan in this way, Orton said.

The convention center has been sustained by roughly $11 million annually in state subsidies that supplement the revenue that management can bring in. Coming close to breaking even, as the center did this year, means it can become less dependent on appropriations.

This will be important in a year when so many other priorities, including the continued emphasis on Maui’s wildfire recovery needs and the ongoing push for affordable housing, are so pressing.

What must not happen now is to lose focus on the legislative mandate: Maintain what still should be a draw for the tourism industry and, now evident, an asset for the local community, too.

Things seem on a better track at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Let’s not blow it now.