�I am pleased with the progress of construction and I have communicated this to clients booked in the new facility. There should be no misunderstanding, we are on time and within budget estimates,� said Washington Convention Center Authority (WCCA) General Manager and CEO Lewis H. Dawley, III. 
 

The new Washington Convention Center contains a total of 2.3 million square feet with over 700,000 square feet of prime exhibit space, 125,000 square feet of meeting space and 44,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space. The facility boasts one of the largest ballrooms in the country featuring a pre-function area with breathtaking panoramic views of the Washington, DC skyline, including the Capitol and Washington National Monument.  The project is 98.5 percent contracted and construction is approximately 55 percent complete. Final procurements are proceeding for the facility's furniture and equipment, telecommunication system, and food service provider. The glass curtain wall, granite, limestone and brick exterior enclosures are proceeding and the building will be fully enclosed by the early part of 2002. Interior build-out has commenced and will accelerate once the building is enclosed.

The new Washington Convention Center is the largest public works project in the District since the city was first constructed. It will be the largest building in Washington, DC and today, the largest excavation site in the Western Hemisphere. When completed in the Spring of 2003, it will contain 2.3 million square feet of space, attract 2.5 million visitors, and bring in $1.4 billion in economic stimulus a year. The Sears Tower could comfortably fit inside, and in the main exhibit hall, four 747's could sit on two major league baseball fields. It will have a huge positive impact for all of us in the area.

The new Washington Convention Center is the fourth facility that Dawley has participated in either the expansion or new construction. However, WCCA is doing what few if any organizations in the convention industry have ever done. 

�We are managing the full operation of an extremely busy convention center while also overseeing the construction of a brand new facility. The past year and a half has demonstrated that the Authority has assembled a quality team with the necessary experience and expertise to handle both operations,� says Dawley. �We have made a commitment to our clients and our goal is to fulfill that commitment to ensure that the groups that have signed on for 2003 have the best events possible in the new facility.� 

WCCA will sponsor several pre-opening tours to allow first year clients to witness the ongoing construction, preview floor plans and receive updates on how the facility will operate. Also, to prepare for the opening of the new convention center, last year Dawley created a seasoned, in-house transition team. Under Dawley�s leadership industry veteran MariAnn Barta directs the team. Prior to joining WCCA two years ago, Barta worked at the Jacob Javits convention Center in New York City and helped Dawley open the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. 

�MariAnn will work with our clients and staff to ensure that events have hands-on senior management through the transition. We set up the transition team and are planning other initiatives with our first year clients because when we open, we expect to hit the ground running. Just as the new Washington Convention Center will set the new standard for design, technology and operation of modern facilities, we will also set the new standard for customer service,� said Dawley. 

BOOKINGS
�The design is phenomenal and bookings are strong,� reports Dawley. As of January 2002 there are 24 definite and tentative bookings for 2003. There are 106 definite, and 91 tentative bookings through 2013. �So we�re gearing up for the biggest grand opening spectacular in Washington history!� 

The first show scheduled for the new Washington Convention Center is the Federal Office Systems Expo (FOSE), which takes place in April 2003. Other 2003 clients include the American Society for Microbiology, the American Occupational Therapy Association and the Biotechnology Industry Organization. 

CLIENT SUPPORT 
The existing convention center proved its importance to the regional economy following the tragic events of September 11th. �We were determined to stay open for business through that tough period and worked closely with our clients. As a result there were no cancellations. We immediately developed newsletters to send to exhibitors, reviewed new security protocols and answered each and every question that clients had,� said Dawley. 

Because several events at the Washington Convention Center from September through December 2002 had upwards of 20,000 attendees each, many of our hotels and restaurants survived the lull in tourist travel. Dawley noted that �it�s starting to rebound now, but I think the convention center was definitely a life saver for the Washington area hospitality industry.�