2012 Gold Rush - Trade Show Executive

CONVENTION CENTERS
20 % 57 %
of the 305 facilities
of the North
American venues
listed in the WTCC
are centers with
less than 125,000
square feet of prime
exhibit space for a
total square footage
of 13,828,089.
82 %
of the North
American venues
with less than
125,00 square feet
of prime exhibit
space are located
in the U.S., which
accounts for
11,290,668 sf.
The average square footage of prime exhibit space for North American facilities
it
ie
listed in TSE’s 2012 directory of the World’s Top
Convention Centers is 79,931.
Six facilities best represent the average square footage otag
for smaller-
lersized
venues, with 80,000 square feet (sf). These facilities include:
• Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, FL
• El Paso Convention & Performing Arts Centers ers in
El Paso, TX
• Fredericksburg Expo & Conference e Center er
in Fredericksburg, eric
rg, VA
• Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA
• South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV
• Town & Country Resort & Convention Center er in San Diego, CA
The median prime exhibit space for the
North American
facilities listed is 78,500 sf. The only facility ity that
matches
the median is Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center
in Jacksonville, FL.
There are 18 facilities that represent the
mode exhibit space for the North American
venues on the list, with 50,000 square feet.
listed in TSE’s
2012 directory
of the World’s Top
Convention Centers
(WTCC) are
smaller facilities.
this year, according to Executive Director
Joseph Floreano. “They’re not spending
like they used to, but the events are
strong,” he said. Floreano said Rochester
still benefits from its corporate base of
companies such as Bausch & Lomb, and
the reinvented Xerox and Kodak, as well
as medical business related to the university
there. Convention center officials
are confident enough that they’re in the
planning phase for interior upgrades
and a proposal for a major expansion.
Convention centers overall
are trending toward an
increase in flexible space.
Such moves may improve
a center’s prospects for
certain types of business,
but reduces prime
exhibit space, defined
as space dedicated
specifically for exhibits.
Recent economic conditions have put
a damper on many expansion projects
and new facilities. The only new
facility that qualified for this
report last year was the
Renaissance Colorado
Springs, which now
has been postponed
indefinitely.
No new facilities
qualified this
year, but one in
this size range, the
Connecticut Expo
Center in Hartford,
has closed.
Reach Shura Garnett at
(636) 669-3000 or slindgren@
stcharlesconventioncenter.com;
Lisa Anders at (770) 814-6044 or landers@
gcvb.org; Joseph Floreano at (585) 232-7200
or jfloreano1@rrcc.com
56 November 2012 | Trade Show Executive