Directly following this meeting, OCCC Executive Director Tom Ackert and Jeff Sachs, a Strategic Advisory Group partner who oversaw the masterplan development with Ernst Young LLP, will be made available to answer questions from press and media contacts, as desired.

The approvals open the door for the nation's second-largest convention center to maintain an edge on the competition which surrounds the convention and meetings industry throughout the country. The OCCC is well-situated for this growth -- it is presently the USA's second-largest premier, full-service convention center, located in the lowest-priced convention destination in the nation, with more hotel rooms than almost any other marketplace.

Still, the call for space is tearing at the existing seams: The Central Florida area is in high demand, with recent polls showing more than 90 percent of association planners desire Orlando as their top meeting destination. In addition, the OCCC has had to turn away nearly 160 groups with more than 10,000 attendees each within the last 14 months, due to lack of space availability. An approval by the BCC next week will allow the expansion to three million square feet to be completed in three stages of 680,000 square feet each.

"The next phase of growth takes us where we should be -- at the helm of one of the most beneficial opportunities for our community," said Executive Director Tom Ackert. "Every delegate who enters our doors presently spends approximately $1,200 within our community. At the end of the year, this equates to an impressive $2.3 billion in economic impact. This touches every man, woman and child in Orange County by lowering taxes and generating additional business for a healthy economy," he added.

Following the Phase V expansion, the center is projected to generate more than 5 million room nights and an additional 21,600 new jobs to the area, while generating an additional $1.4 billion in economic activity and $55 million in taxes. This would increase the impact on the state's economy to $3.7 billion.