Kansas City councilwoman Cindy Circo and businessman Bill George will co-chair a newly established steering committee exploring a new Downtown convention hotel.

The group's first meeting on Monday focused the group's effort in a number of ways, Circo and other participants said Tuesday.

A number of subcommittees will be appointed in coming days to help write a request for proposals and explore potential locations for a new hotel.

Circo said the group is in general agreement that a hotel will be essential if the city wants to continue to compete for large conventions. At the same time, the city can't know how risky such a project might be without soliciting detailed proposals.

"We don't want to do this at any cost," Circo said.

Indeed, costs? Other recent convention hotels have ranged as high as $500 million.

How much will the city have to share in those costs?

Can it be done without jeopardizing the city's general fund?

These will all be key questions, said council members Russ Johnson and Ed Ford. "If it's $3 trillion dollars I'll guess we'll pass," Johnson quipped.

But if there's something affordable, the city would be foolish not to embrace a project that might pump more tourist dollars into the city, Johnson and Ford said.

Ford said he'd like to see a new hotel in time for a Major League Baseball All-Star game in Kansas City, hopefully in July 2012.

"We hear it's the right thing to do," Ford said. "The question is how can we pay for it."

Stay tuned as the group continues to develop a request for proposals. The group, established by a Kansas City Council resolution, will meet the fourth Monday of each month at 3 p.m. at a Bartle Hall meeting room.