As Some 1,000 guests watched from under the distinctive wave-shaped glass roof that covers the center's porte cochere, a dazzling fireworks display punctuated the festivities at the grand opening of the new Puerto Rico Convention Center. The four-year, $415 million transformation of an old Navy base to a spectacular new convention center ushers in a new era for meetings and conventions in Puerto Rico. “We are now a strong contender for the $122 billion meetings and convention industry business,” said Puerto Rico Governor Aníbal Acevedo-Vila at the inaugural celebration, November 17 to 18.

The new Puerto Rico Convention Center — with 580,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space — is the largest meeting facility in Latin America and the Caribbean. Officials hope that the center will ultimately attract 5 percent of the $122 billion meetings industry business — more than $5 billion in economic development for Puerto Rico.

Through 2012, more than 200 groups have booked the center, says Ana María Viscasillas, president and chief executive officer of the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau. The first major show at the center is the Caribbean Hotel Association, which will meet January 15 to 17, 2006. The largest show on the books is the National Guard Association of the U.S., which will bring a 5,000-person delegation to town in 2007.

Currently, 60 percent of the tourism business in Puerto Rico comes from business travelers, with 35 percent of that total coming from meetings and conventions, says Viscasillas. With more than 50 of the world's leading pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device manufacturers on the island, it is a hot spot for medical meetings.

The center is expected to bring $300 million to the local economy annually. With a 152,700-square-foot exhibit hall, a 39,500-square-foot grand ballroom, 36,400 square feet of meeting space, and 28 breakout rooms, the center can accommodate a delegation of about 10,000, but groups of that size are not yet in the cards, says Viscasillas. “We're looking at groups of 1,500 to 2,000 right now,” she said. “We need more infrastructure to accommodate the larger groups.”

With 21 new hotels and 5,000 rooms in the pipeline through 2008, that infrastructure is on the way. Groundbreaking for the 500-room, $175 million Sheraton headquarters hotel took place in December, with construction scheduled for completion in 2008. The 113-acre convention center district will also include retail shops, residential units, office space, restaurants, and movie theaters.