The management and staff at the Orange County Convention Center have earned hearty congratulations. They rose to the challenge of hosting two huge shows, back-to-back, in recent days.

The International Builders Show and the sporting-goods industry's Super Show together pumped millions of dollars into the area's economy by drawing well more than 100,000 visitors.

The Orange County Convention Center can accommodate such big shows because it has undergone several expansions -- the latest one opened in 2003 -- and is now among the largest centers in the country, at 2.1 million square feet. But a recent study suggests county leaders should forget about any more expansions.

The study, released this week by the Brookings Institution, found a building boom in convention space under way across the country, even with overall attendance at trade shows still lagging below its 1998 peak. Despite gains in Orlando and Las Vegas, other cities already are seeing declines in business at their convention centers.

Meanwhile, repaying the more than $1 billion debt for what's been built at Orange County's center is eating up $76 million a year from the county's hotel-bed tax -- more than two-thirds of the record collections from the levy in the last budget year. Enough is enough.

Orange County leaders would be smart to look at other uses for bed-tax money -- such as a downtown performing-arts center or sports venues -- that would add to the region's attractiveness for visitors while improving its quality of life for residents.