Expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center opens in Philadelphia

Just before the chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority grabbed giant scissors to cut an equally large red ribbon Friday, she beamed at the several hundred people gathered, most of whom worked in the hospitality industry.

"Welcome to your house of commerce!" proclaimed Ahmeenah Young.

And with those words, all that personifies Philadelphia seemed to descend the large staircase and two very long escalators at the newly enlarged Convention Center.

There was Rocky, decked out in his gray sweat suit and black cap, as if he were running down the Art Museum steps. And Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross arriving in colonial-era attire. Dragons from Chinatown, showgirls in feathered costumes, a band performing samba, and several dozen restaurant and hotel workers joined the politicians and other officials in the lobby overlooking the center's new glass-enclosed Broad Street entrance.

They came to celebrate the debut of the Convention Center's $786 million expansion - a project that took more than two years to complete and, before that, even longer to win legislative approval in Harrisburg. The largest public-works project in the history of the commonwealth finally opened its doors to the public just before noon, after the ribbon was cut and red streamers rained down.

"I think it looks wonderful," said Bobbie McKenzie, 59, of Lansdale, who works in sales, as she peered down one of the new corridors lined with meeting rooms. "It's big, open, and airy."

"Philly has hit the big time," said her husband, Rege McKenzie, 58, a semiretired pharmaceutical director. "Look at the size of this place."

The expansion makes Philadelphia home to the country's 14th-largest convention center, the largest ballroom on the East Coast (the 55,400-square-foot Terrace Ballroom), and more than a half-million square feet of connected exhibit space.

With one million total square feet of sellable space, the bigger center now allows two major conventions, or a convention and a trade show, or a convention and a major gate show such as the Philadelphia International Flower Show opening Sunday, to take place simultaneously for the first time.

"It's massive," Russ Alexander, 58, who works for an affordable-housing nonprofit, said as he toured the new spaces Friday. "It seems to stretch forever."

Now, the task is to fill the jumbo center, and Mayor Nutter had a message Friday for the convention world.

"Philadelphia wants your business!" Nutter told the crowd jamming the entrance lobby. "This is not just a building, but an asset. It will put food on the table and create jobs."

Nutter shared a raised stage with several City Council members, as well as State Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Philadelphia); Nick DeBenedictis, board chairman of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau; and members of the Convention Center Authority board, including chairman Thomas A. "Buck" Riley Jr.

"They said it could not be done about 1,000 times, and this building would never be built," Riley said. "There were teardowns and labor issues, and so on.

"But here we are," he said. "This is a historic day."

Riley profusely thanked the unions that worked on the massive project and acknowledged the negotiations currently taking place between labor and the center's management. At the heart of the talks are restructuring work rules that have been criticized by convention groups as outdated and costly.

"We are changing, and the unions are changing," Riley said. "Everyone realizes we all have to change . . . as we move from renting out space to becoming a center of hospitality."

The expansion is expected to contribute more than $150 million to the region, create about 2,000 hospitality jobs, generate $10 million in income-tax revenue for the state, and spur hotel development.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau, the agency in charge of booking groups at the center, so far has secured $2.7 billion in business.

Hospitality-industry observers have estimated that the city, with the expansion, could use 1,500 to 2,000 more hotel rooms to host the largest of conventions.

Ed Grose, head of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, predicts the expansion will have an effect similar to the original center's when it opened 18 years ago. That event, he said, "led to several new museums, new restaurants, and many new attractions."

"I believe five to 10 years from now, we are going to look back on this project, and only then will we be able to truly realize what this means for the Philadelphia region," Grose said.