A little more to love - (brotherly love that is)!

So, what do you think of when you think of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania?

• Cream Cheese?
• Philly Cheese Steaks?
• The Liberty Bell?
• The "City of Brotherly Love"?

Well, if you are a part of the trade show industry, you may be thinking 787 million dollars!  That is the price of the gorgeous new expansion at the Pennsylvania Convention Center!   See the article below that was featured in TSNN this month.  Not only is this a great addition for the success of the trade show industry, but it's boosting the economy in endless ways!

This new expansion in Philly is a GREAT indicator that the trade show industry is going nowhere but UP!  Momentum Management's forecast is no different - we are growing more than ever and we are proud to be a part of this great industry!

Pennsylvania CC Opens Doors to $787 Million Expansion

March 4, 2011

by Rachel Wimberly

 

inShare

The Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia officially has gone from being the 24th largest trade show venue in the United States to the 14th largest when it opened a 239,000 square foot expansion that will now give it 679,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space.

The entire facility boasts one million square feet of usable space and has the largest contiguous exhibition space in the northeastern U.S.
A ribbon-cutting to commemorate the official opening of the expanded space took place March 4, and a grand opening is slated for June.
“Philadelphia has an amazing opportunity to become the standard bearer for the hospitality and tourism industry,” said Ahmeenah Young, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority.
She added, “Our ongoing focus is to make sure that the experience each group, attendee and exhibitor has in the Philadelphia region exceeds their greatest expectations.”

The $787 million expansion, completed on time and on budget, now gives the facility the ability to host two large events simultaneously.
“Today, we are taking our level of customer service to greater heights with the opening of an expanded Convention Center,” said Jack Ferguson, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The entire city is rolling out the welcome mat. Customers from across the country are buzzing about Philadelphia and expansion.”

He added, “We already have $2.7 billion in future expansion business on the books. On behalf of our 1,000-member businesses we want to offer our congratulations to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the staff of the Pennsylvania Convention Center for delivering a world-class venue for our customers.”

The expansion also will draw in larger groups that will take up the entire center, such as the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, booked March 18-24, which will use 5,200 hotel rooms on peak and 27,000 hotel rooms total, generating an economic impact of $31 million, according to Ferguson.
Another new show that will fill the center in May will be Lightfair International, with 3,500 hotel rooms on peak, 13,000 hotel rooms total and an economic impact of $23 million, he added.

“We have six shows this year that fit that profile that we never could have gotten before the expansion,” Ferguson said.

The PCCA expects visitor traffic to increase to 1.5 million per year, and research indicates the expanded center also will create 2,000 hospitality industry jobs, generate $10 million in income tax revenue for Pennsylvania and contribute $150 million annually to the regional economy.