Saying it’s needed to keep pace with facilities in Chicago and Orlando, Georgia World Congress Center officials want to add 100,000 to 135,000 square feet of new meeting space to the downtown convention center.
The price tag could be hefty — $50 million or more.
The center is seeking proposals from architectural firms to construct the new exhibit building, which would better connect buildings B and C. Included on the state facility’s wish-list is more exhibit space, 10,000 square feet of meeting space and a catwalk system.
The idea is to boost the contiguous square footage the Congress Center can offer to lure more big conventions, spokeswoman Jennifer LeMaster said. For big shows, the GWCC has to use tents or other means to fill “exhibit space” gaps and make the convention’s footprint more cohesive. Officials say customers have told them it hurst the facility.
“If you want to be a major player in today’s world, a million contiguous square feet is what you need,” LeMaster said.
LeMaster said the $50 million price is a “planning number” that would help guide architects and that it could be lower or higher. A winning bid could be accepted as early as February.
At almost 3.9 million square feet, the GWCC is the nation’s fourth largest convention center. It has 1.4 million square of meeting space broken up over three buildings. Building C, its last addition, added 420,000 square feet in 2003.
LeMaster said the update will also fit in with long-term plans to upgrade the GWCC to fit in with new campus assets, including the $1.4 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Atlanta Falcons and a proposed 800-room hotel.
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