* A groundbreaking ceremony was held recently for the $14 million La Crosse Center project in La Crosse, Wis. The expansion will double the current facility's space to more than 90,000 square feet and will include a new 6,000-square-foot ballroom, an outside terrace overlooking the Mississippi River, and 3,000 square feet of meeting rooms on the second level. The project is slated for completion in the spring of 2000.
* The $72 million expansion and renovation of the Commonwealth Convention Center in Louisville, Ky., has reached its midpoint. The new facility will have 200,000 square feet of exhibit space and a new 30,000-square-foot ballroom. The project will be done by December 1999.
* The Quality Riverview Hotel in Covington, Ky., has completed a five-year, multimillion-dollar renovation. All interior areas of the 236-room hotel have been upgraded. The property's 16th-floor conference center offers six meeting rooms with state-of-the-art technology. A 6,000-square-foot ballroom also is available at the hotel.
* The 454-room Doubletree Hotel Anaheim/Orange County has completely refurbished its Grand Ballroom, California Ballroom, and prefunction space. The revamping was part of a $1 million redo that also included new kitchen equipment and the remodeling of five junior suites that can be used as hospitality suites. The hotel offers 20,000 square feet of meeting space.
* A $9 million renovation over four years is under way at the Crowne Plaza Resort Hilton Head Island. The majority of the renovation, which will include guest rooms and meeting space, will be complete by December 1999. The 340-room resort offers 10,000 square feet of exhibit space and 14 meeting rooms, the largest of which accommodates 1,100 people.
* The Orange County Commission in Orlando, Fla., has voted to move forward with the long-term master plan for expansion of the Orange County Convention Center. This expansion will ad one million square feet of exhibit space and a 100,000-square-foot ballroom by 2003, bringing total exhibit space to 2.1 million square feet.
* The Greater Columbus Convention Center is gearing up for a $73 million expansion and renovation that will add 135,000 square feet of exhibit space, a junior ballroom measuring 15,000 square feet, and 15,000 square feet of meeting space. Total exhibit space at the center after project completion in 2000 will be 450,000 square feet. An upgrade to 100,000 square feet of retail space will also be included in the project.