Successful Meetings - September 2008 - (Page 42) Convention Centers The Raleigh Convention Center Where All That Glitters May Bring Gold How a new convention center is driving the redefinition of a destination By Christopher Hosford Roger Krupa can get tongue-tied talking about the new Raleigh Convention Center. It isn’t because Krupa, director of the gleaming new facility that debuts this month, doesn’t know what to say about its features—that the $222-million, 500,000-square-foot center offers 150,000 square feet of exhibit space, for example, plus 16 meeting rooms and a grand ballroom seating 2,400. This is not a huge facility, granted, but a striking one, featuring in addition to its interior amenities, an exterior art wall that literally shimmers and flutters in the breeze. What has Krupa speechless is how the center is the culmination of a citywide renaissance that seems to have brought Raleigh together as few things ever have. “It’s amazing the way Raleigh has embraced this,” he says, “but in truth it’s a combination of many factors.” Both cause and effect, Raleigh’s SEPTEMBER 2008 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS 42 successfulmeetings.com http://successfulmeetings.com
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