Final Phase of Remodel Will Be Complete This Year; More Conventions Coming
For many Americans, Christmas is a red-letter day for its religious and cultural significance. But in Orange County this year, the date bears special significance as the target completion date for the three-year, $169 million remodel of the Anaheim Convention Center. That expansion, which is in the final phase that will increase the center’s total available space 40%, to 1.6 million square feet, is on schedule, according to Convention Center general manager Greg Smith. “It might even be done a couple of weeks early,” Smith said. Smith said construction of this phase has been smooth and was easier on the work crews than the first two phases, something surely appreciated by the Hensel Phelps workers who have been responsible for construction on phases 2 and 3. “In the past, there was disruption of shows, and we had to stop construction and be careful as a result. On this one, we haven’t had any blackout days,” he said. “We got better at forecasting what days are better for what kind of work, too,” Smith said. The final phase includes the demolition of the first floor meeting space and addition of 50,000 square feet of exhibit space and 35,000 square feet of meeting space in Hall A, the oldest portion of the center and the one that has housed offices for the Visitor and Convention Bureau, part of which has been relegated to temporary offices in the interim.
Elaine Cali, communications director for the VCB, said some departments,convention services, housing and tourism,already have moved into their new offices, though hers has not. But once the center is complete, she said, her staff is looking forward to offices with a view. “We’ll get a better flavor for what is happening (at the center),” she said, “because we’ll be using the same entrance as attendees coming to the shows.” And inside, the show goes on,as it has throughout the expansion. Bureau officials have pointed out proudly that the center has never lost ground in square footage available during the three years of construction. Though bookings and attendance fell during that period, the project was undertaken when studies showed Anaheim could lose up to 60% of its convention business without the expansion. Last year, there were a total of 444 events at the Convention Center with 767,689 attendees. Projected totals for this year are 476 groups with attendance of 965,422,a figure that approaches the 979,259 seen in 1997, the year before major construction began. The last time the center went over the 1 million mark in attendance was in 1994, but all indications are that that benchmark will be exceeded next year when the entire facility is available. About 175 conventions already have been booked by the Visitor and Convention Bureau for 2001, with an estimated attendance of 828,000,with four booking months remaining before the center is complete. When complete, the renovated center will contain 815,000 square feet of exhibit space, 130,000 square feet of meeting space and 200,000 square feet of pre-function and lobby space. The new Anaheim ballroom, which became available when phase 2 was completed in January, offers 38,058 square feet of space,the largest single-room ballroom in OC, though the Disneyland Hotel can offer more by combining its ballroom and an exhibit area. The completion of phase 2 was a turning point in the public’s awareness of what the remodeled center would be like. That phase included the ballroom, the new lobby and the 190-foot tower of glass surrounding the rotunda lobby of the convention center’s main entrance. Inside, a dramatic staircase links the second and third floors, providing a view of the lobby and surrounding area of Anaheim. Joyce Ginsburg, manager of meeting planning for Chicago-based Bank Administration Institute, said that group of almost 10,000 delegates has met in Las Vegas, Miami and New Orleans, but is looking forward to coming back to Anaheim. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm because of the strong rebuilding of the area,” she said, “but the Convention Center is absolutely a positive a stunning facility.” That sentiment has been echoed throughout the meeting planner community, both from locals and those outside the immediate area. Gayle Grable, corporate event planner for Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro Inc., said that company is likely to start holding more meetings in Anaheim as a result of the entire Anaheim Resort project. “They’ve done a lot to spiff up the area,” she said. At the Convention Center, there will be changes on the outside, too. Smith said the center will be taking delivery at the end of the year on two three-car electric trams that will help deliver convention attendees from remote parking areas to the center. The tram, which will not venture onto city streets, was first proposed by the city traffic and engineering department a couple of years ago, according to Diana Kotler, transportation planner for Anaheim. Kotler said trams have the ability to handle more people with fewer vehicles than a bus system and are received well in other cities. Because the trams are electric, the city’s department of public works approached AQMD about assistance in funding the program. In the end, the Anaheim Advantage Services, part of the public utilities department, put $540,000 into the program and AQMD kicked in another $142,000 to get it off the ground. In addition to helping conventioneers get to their destination, the trams will “be a showcase for electric vehicles,” Smith said. n
