USA - After months of delays and 12 years of planning, the Irving Convention Center in Las Colinas, Dallas has finally opened today, 28 January 2011.
Costing US$133m to build, the convention centre includes 25,548sqm of event space with a 4,645sqm column-free exhibit hall; a 1,858sqm ballroom; and 1,858sqm of breakout meeting space.
The centre is under the management of Pennsylvania-based facility management company SMG, who also manages the San Francisco’s Mascone Center and the Ontario Convention Center (OCC), as well as 250 venues globally.
The former Atlantic City Convention Center Manager and SMG Regional Manager, Charlie Beime, has been appointed Interim GM for the centre. Beirne takes the reigns from Thom Connors, who has served as GM since October 2009. Connors, who is being reassigned to Detroit’s Cobo Center, will remain involved with the Irving project as part of his regional oversight role with SMG.
SMG plans to name a permanent general manager for the Irving Convention Center in Spring 2011.
The first event to be held at the new centre is a food festival, ZestFest, featuring cooking demos by celebrity chefs, live music and interactive contests. "We are fired-up, pun intended, to have a festival with a proven track record as the first consumer event in the Irving Convention Center," said Executive Director of the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau, Maura Allen Gast.
Any announcements? Email exhibitionworld@mashmedia.net
