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