After more than two years of construction, the newly expanded Oregon Convention Center in Portland opened April 18. The facility has doubled in size, making it the largest in the Pacific Northwest, with 255,000 square feet of exhibit hall space, two ballrooms, and 50 meeting rooms on an 18-acre campus in the heart of Portland. As befits its Northwest setting, the expansion was built with environmental concerns foremost in mind. Eighty-five percent of construction waste was recycled, and more than a quarter of all building materials are made from recycled material. The expansion's “cool roof” minimizes heat, and runoff from the roof is collected into the park-like Rain Garden, where a series of ponds cools and filters the water before returning it to the nearby Willamette River. www.oregoncc.org
The new, 2.3 million-square-foot Washington, D.C. Convention Center opened on schedule in March. The largest building in Washington and one of the 10 largest convention centers in the United States, it has nearly 725,000 square feet of exhibit space and 125,000 square feet of meeting rooms — more than twice the exhibition space of the old center. At least five of the events booked for 2003, including the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology, are too large to have gone into the old building. www.dcconvention.com
The $47 million Overland Park, Kansas Convention Center opened in November with 60,000 square feet of exhibition space, plus 25,000 square feet of banquet space and 15,000 square feet of meeting space. A 25,000-square-foot outdoor courtyard, between the center and the Sheraton headquarters hotel, can be used for outdoor exhibits. The center has booked 254 events for 2003. www.opconventioncenter.com
In Fort Wayne, Ind., groundbreaking took place May 1 for the expansion and renovation of Grand Wayne Convention Center. The $27 million expansion incorporates a new 50,000-square-foot multipurpose convention hall, a 10,000-square-foot ballroom, and 15,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. The current facility will operate through June 2004; completion of the project is expected in spring 2005. www.grandwayne.com
Ground will be broken this coming January for the $160 million expansion and renovation of the Cincinnati Convention Center. The 750,000-square-foot redesigned center will include nearly 200,000 square feet of exhibition space, more than 45,000 square feet of flexible meeting space (able to be configured into as many as 37 rooms), a 40,000-square-foot ballroom, and a 17,500-square-foot junior ballroom. An expanded loading dock will have 17 berths and three semi-truck portals in the exhibition halls. The existing facility will also be renovated during the process, which is expected to be complete in mid-2006. The facility will remain open throughout construction. www.cincycenter.com
In Aberdeen, Scotland, the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Center completed a major expansion and renovation in April. The main plenary hall capacity was increased to 2,000 delegates, and the auditorium gained 200 additional seats, now boasting a total of 500 seats. Two multipurpose halls, with capacities of 685 and 700, were added, along with 23 new breakout rooms. www.secc.co.uk
In the uptown business and entertainment district, adjacent to the Charlotte (N.C.) Convention Center, The Westin Charlotte opened this May with 700 rooms and more than 44,000 square feet of meeting and pre-function space, including the city's largest hotel ballroom at 16,276 square feet. According to Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Cannon, the new hotel “has been part of Charlotte's growth plan since 1997, when the city began exploring ways to enhance its convention business and how best to use the new convention center.” The hotel features the Ember Grille for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and Westin's Heavenly Bed and Heavenly Bath products. www.westin.com/charlotte
The first new casino hotel to be built in Atlantic City in 13 years will open this summer. The $1 billion Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa will have 2,002 guest rooms and suites (ranging in size from a generous 460 square feet to 5,000 square feet), 11 restaurants, a European-style spa with 22 treatment rooms, and a 135,000-square-foot casino. Also on site: 70,000 square feet of event space; a 1,000-seat theater; a 30,000-square-foot, column-free ballroom; and 20 meeting rooms accommodating up to 3,700 guests. www.theborgata.com
The Hershey Lodge and Convention Center, with 100,000 square feet of meeting space, has expended its gift shof and in an ongoing renovation will see softgoods upgrades and new lighting and sound systems this summer for The Chocolate Ballroom, Chocolate Lobby, and Mirrored Hallway. Also planned is a new in-house business center. www.hersheymeetings.com