Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden said it was important the district council had an informed debate about the centre by making all relevant information available to the public.
There would be ''no secret deals,'' Ms van Uden said.
''We are still some way from any firm agreement with the consortium, but whatever is proposed will, as I have previously stated, be fully disclosed to the public, inclusive of potential options.''
Cost to the public versus private investment was at the heart of the project, she said.
''We cannot expect the private sector to invest in the convention centre unless there is a viable business case.
''Equally, the scale of any public investment needs to be balanced with the economic return to the district.''
Council chief executive Adam Feeley said he was ''satisfied that good progress is being made'' with negotiations.
''We have commissioned an impact assessment on the convention centre itself, as well as an economic analysis of the wider district impact of this project, both of which support the economic case for a convention centre,'' Mr Feeley said.
Considerable work had also been done on consent issues and the application process; analysing site options; and forecasting likely revenue and expenditure from the venue - all of which would form part of the information disclosed in the public consultation.
''People understandably wanted a quick solution, but this was a `once in a generation opportunity' to develop a major piece of tourism infrastructure,'' he said.
''Such projects are complicated and if they are to succeed, they need to be well planned and have widespread public buy-in.''
