At 1.7 million sf the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority says in a release that the new center is New England's largest enclosed man-made space and adds that the center fills a "critical need in Boston, which has been unable to compete for large trade shows and conventions due to a lack of space."
Despite its size, the center had to contend with a vocal opposition that insisted that the city did not need a second convention center in addition to the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center, a smaller center that is located in the Back Bay. In addition, the development of the headquarters hotel for the convention center, which is considered crucial to the success of the convention center, was stymied by a lack of financing--which it finally secured a few weeks ago--and is now expected to open in the fall of 2005.
"Boston has always been one of the top visitor destinations in the country but we did not have the space to accommodate big conventions and trade shows," says Mayor Thomas M. Menino. "This building makes it possible to compete with cities across the country. It has the added bonus of being the flagship of the South Boston Waterfront development and with its opening I know we will begin to see the 24-hour mixed-use development that I have always envisioned for the area."
The new center consists of 516,000 sf of contiguous exhibit space and 160,000 sf of meeting space in 82 meeting rooms as well as a 40,000-sf ballroom. The center currently has 48 definite events, ten contracts pending and 88 tentative events scheduled through 2010. Among those events are MacWorld Creative Pro 2004, the 2004 Democratic National Committee's Media Opening Party, Microsoft TechEd 2006 and Biotechnology Technology Industry Organization 2007. Construction on the building took over four years with Tishman Construction Corp. of New York overseeing the operation.
"More than 20 years ago, San Francisco took an area not unlike the South Boston waterfront and transformed it into one of the most successful convention destinations in the country," says James E. Rooney, MCCA executive director. "There is no doubt that Boston is headed in that direction."
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