NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Twenty-three conventions have now confirmed bookings at the Music City Center, even though construction has yet to begin on the multi-million dollar facility.

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But it unclear how much these groups are paying to rent the new convention center because a lot of numbers are whited out on the contracts.

That is not going over to well will Metro Council member Jim Gotto.

"If, in fact, these contracts are giving away the space or heavily discounting it, then that doesn't bode well for being able to pay the operating expenses of the convention center," said Gotto.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau said the details of what each group is paying for exhibit space and hotel rooms needs to be a trade secret for competitive reasons.

"There are things you do to sell that doesn't warrant laying it out for everybody to look at," said Butch Spyridon of the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Spyridon has offered to let council members view, but not copy the contracts. However, Gotto said the public has a right to know, and said he will take legal action if he needs to.

"I want the numbers, and I won't give up until I get them," said Gotto.

The list of 23 contracts shows that many conventions being booked don't meet the minimum standards set by the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

They wanted conventions using a minimum of 200,000 square feet of exhibit space, but about 40 percent of the conventions booked through pre-sales process are smaller.

"Well, it implies to me that people aren't beating down the door to come here, like they're saying," said Gotto.

Spyridon said the important number isn't the square footage of exhibition space used, but rather, the number of hotel rooms each convention will use. His numbers show 72 percent of the conventions that are pre-booked now will hit the target of using at least 1,600 rooms.