Around the country, new convention centers are opening and under development, expanding meeting planners' options and raising their expectations.

• On the East Coast, the $271 million CONNECTICUT CONVENTION CENTER AT ADRIAEN'S LANDING opened last summer in Hartford, Conn. It includes a 10-story glass atrium, more than 200,000 square feet of meeting space, a 40,000-square-foot ballroom, and 145,000 square feet of exhibit space. The center is the anchor of the 30-acre Adriaen's Landing development, which includes retail and entertainment facilities and is part of a $2 billion revitalization under way in the city. Also new is the Marriott Hartford Downtown, with 409 rooms and suites and 113,000 square feet of meeting space.

• In the South, Hampton, Va., is on the convention circuit with the opening of the new HAMPTON ROADS CONVENTION CENTER. The 344,000-square-foot center has a 102,600-square-foot exhibit hall divisible into three areas, as well as a 13,000-square-foot conference center with a private entrance. A total of 35 meeting rooms include a grand ballroom with banquet seating for 2,000. A new 295-suite Embassy Suites hotel is connected to the convention center by a covered walkway.

• Last August, the $202.5 million VIRGINIA BEACH CONVENTION CENTER opened its first phase. It offers 300,000 square feet of space, including a 31,029-square-foot ballroom, a 56,516-square-foot exhibition hall, and 19,249 square feet of meeting space. When the final phase of construction is completed in early 2007, the center will have 516,522 square feet of space, including a 150,000-square-foot, column-free exhibit hall.

• The RALEIGH (N.C.) CONVENTION CENTER is scheduled to open downtown in spring 2008 with more than 500,000 square feet of space, including 150,000 square feet of exhibit space, 16 meeting rooms, and a 32,000-square-foot ballroom. A 400-room Marriott hotel is also part of the project.

• In the Southwest, a $600 million expansion of the PHOENIX CONVENTION CENTER, set to open in July, will triple the size of the facility. A 1,000-room Sheraton hotel, a block from the convention center, is slated for completion in 2008.

• In the Midwest, CHICAGO'S MCCORMICK PLACE WEST will open in 2008 with 470,000 square feet of exhibit space and 250,000 square feet of meeting space.

• A $160 million expansion and renovation of CINCINNATI'S CINERGY CENTER will open in July.

• In Grand Rapids, Mich., the $220 million convention center, DEVOS PLACE, opened last spring with 1 million square feet of function space.

• Also last spring, the 154,000-square-foot ST. CHARLES (Mo.) CONVENTION CENTER opened with a 27,600-square-foot main exhibit hall that can be expanded to 35,700 square feet by using the adjacent ballroom. The center also features a 16,200-square-foot grand ballroom, 7,070 square feet of separate meeting room space, and pre-function areas.

• In Indianapolis, $900 million has been approved for expansion of the INDIANA CONVENTION CENTER and a new stadium, due to be finished in 2010 and 2008, respectively.

• On the West Coast, the $84 million GREATER TACOMA (Wash.) CONVENTION & TRADE CENTER opened last summer. The 277,000-square-foot facility has 51,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 14,000-square-foot ballroom, 11,000 square feet of breakout meeting space, and a glass-enclosed pre-function area.