The first section of renovated meeting space at the SMG-managed Greater Columbus Convention Center has been completed and already hosted events for both the Minor League Baseball Promotional Seminar 2015 and the Materials Science & Technology (M S & T) 2015 Conference and Exhibition.
“It is fitting that just after the Columbus Clippers won the International League Governors’ Cup that Minor League Baseball officials traveled to Columbus to visit the Clippers’ award-winning Huntington Park and were the first guests to attend events in our new meeting space,” said Greater Columbus Convention Center General Manager John R. Page. “And this week, M S &T delegates from around the world are holding sessions in these meeting rooms, providing exposure of this renovated space to an international audience.”
Adjacent to the facility’s administrative offices, the two second-floor meeting rooms are now known as Eisenman and Trott. The room names were selected to pay homage to the architects designing the Greater Columbus Convention Center, which was dedicated March 13, 1993. Peter Eisenman, the New York-based architect, collaborated with Columbus-based Richard Trott, now deceased, on the iconic project.
The rooms and foyer feature an elegant color palette including white, gray, tan and bronze, with new carpeting, ceilings, lighting, signage, textured wall coverings and streamlined digital display terminals showcasing client logos and the schedule of events booked within the rooms.
These two meeting rooms were completed on schedule and comprise the first portion of the $125 million expansion and full-scale renovation of the facility that has already commenced and will conclude in July 2017. The Corna Kokosing Elford construction team is working concurrently on several projects within various parts of the facility to minimize the disruption to clients while adhering to detailed project timelines.
Another major project component underway is the renovation of the Grand Ballroom, which will be renamed and make its debut in March 2016.
“The landscape of our facility is changing daily with several construction teams working simultaneously in different parts of the facility, as well as building the Goodale Garage across the street,” said Page. “The result will be a stunning facility that will be second to none in terms of the event space, amenities and customer service we will offer our guests.”
The Greater Columbus Convention Center, located in downtown Columbus, hosted an estimated 2.5 million visitors in 2014.
