With the completion of Exhibit Hall BC, Georgia World Congress Center has more than 1 million square feet of contiguous exhibition space. Perhaps most impressive: The 100,000 sq.-ft. addition came in on time and under budget.
Step back a few thousand feet, and the new space is a key cog in a larger picture. Georgia World Congress Center Authority is marking off its checklist on a 2020 improvement plan. Other projects included $27 million in improvements to Centennial Olympic Park and the addition of a headquarter hotel, Signia by Hilton, set to break ground this spring.
“Exhibit Hall BC continues the transformation of Atlanta’s walkable convention and entertainment district as one of the country’s top meetings destinations,” says William Pate, president and CEO of the Atlanta CVB.
The timing could not be better. The space debuted at International Production & Processing Expo, the world's largest annual poultry, feed and meat technology exposition. The event has been held at the congress center for 44 years (and Atlanta for 72 years), beginning in 1977, and enjoyed the fruits of multiple expansions over that time.
IPPE had no trouble filling the extra space this year, hosting a chicken wing eating contest and meal stations, as well as additional booths, there.
Pate says the additional exhibition area is not a vanity project. It is designed to allow Atlanta to be more competitive bidding on events that previously would not fit in the building.
“This exhibit hall is really a game changer for our city to compete for the largest conventions in the country,” he says.
In addition to meetings, the congress center has also been used during an extraordinary three-year run, in which Atlanta has hosted the College Football Playoff Championship, Super Bowl and the upcoming Final Four.
