San Juan, Puerto Rico (November 17, 2005) – The Puerto Rico Convention Center, a $415-million facility located in San Juan, opened its doors for business today. The largest facility of its kind in the Caribbean and the most technologically advanced in the Caribbean and Latin America, the convention centre can host groups of up to 10,000 delegates.
The new Puerto Rico Convention Center features a 152,700-square-foot exhibition hall, which can be divided into three individual exposition spaces, as well as a 39,500-square-foot grand ballroom, the largest in the Caribbean. The center also offers 36,400 square feet of meeting space, including 15 separate meeting rooms on two levels, which can be divided into 28 breakout rooms.
As the most technologically advanced convention center in the Caribbean and Latin America, full fiber optic broadband and wireless Internet access is available throughout the facility. Additional services include video conferencing, satellite uplink and downlink, and simultaneous language translation. Other highlights include controllable lighting, electrical and utility connections readily accessible in the exhibition hall through state-of-the-art floor boxes, a production control balcony in the ballroom with sound and lighting controls, as well as an integrated audio system with the capability for remote recording of programs, and programmable lighting controls in the ballroom and meeting rooms.
Distinctively designed, the Puerto Rico Convention Center’s large sweeping roof forms recall waves in their complex geometry, color, and translucency. Materials used in the facility’s construction reflect those used locally, including stone, concrete, stucco, and glass in a modern composition. The center’s design also considers many of Puerto Rico’s natural attributes. Water and ocean imagery is incorporated throughout while the colors and textures of the island’s flora and fauna infuse interior spaces with a sense of place rooted in Puerto Rico’s heritage, culture, and natural beauty.
A new website, www.prconvention.com, includes comprehensive floor plans; details on services, service facilities and partners at the center; as well as an events calendar with links to show sites for event registration and other information. Other website highlights include an online RFP, sales and management contact information, as well as a fully downloadable Event Planning Guide, which includes details about the new convention center, complete facility specifications and guidelines, a rate schedule, service order forms and a subcontractor building manual. Downloadable promotional video and a photo gallery of images for use in custom brochures and other collateral materials are also available on the site.
The new Puerto Rico Convention Center is the centerpiece of the Puerto Rico Convention Center District, considered to be the largest waterfront development project in the history of the US and its territories. The district was conceived as a dynamic, multi-use urban center, combining business and entertainment in a 113-acre complex that, upon completion in 2012, will include hotels, retail shops, restaurants, office space, movie theaters, and residential units.
“The Puerto Rico Convention Center District will create a dynamic and visually appealing gathering place where conventioneers and tourists, as well as the people of Puerto Rico, can enjoy the district’s mix of entertainment venues, restaurants, retail, office, and residential space,” says Manuel Sánchez Biscombe, executive director, Convention Center District Authority.
A key element of the district will be a 500-room headquarter hotel to serve the Puerto Rico Convention Center. Groundbreaking of the $175-million facility is scheduled to take place later this year with a projected opening set for 2008. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, under its Sheraton banner, will manage the new convention center’s flagship property.
The hotel’s contemporary urban resort design calls for a large, open-lobby casino and entertainment complex with music hall for live performances, a rooftop pool with cabanas, tropical gardens and views of Old San Juan and the harbor. Described as a beach without sand, the area is designed to bring the Caribbean into the Convention Center District for conventioneers. Also included in the plan are two ballrooms, banquet and meeting rooms, a full-service spa, restaurants, shops and parking space.
The Puerto Rico Convention Center, near Old San Juan and the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, is easily accessible from many major US and international destinations with more than 1,300 non-stop flight arrivals each week.
For more information or to inquire about booking the Puerto Rico Convention Center call 1-800-875-4765.
|
Disclaimer: The information in this article/release was accurate at
press time; however, we suggest you confirm all details and prices
directly with vendors.
|
|
HOME | HOTELS | VILLAS | CRUISES | ACTIVITIES | SHOPPING | RESTAURANTS | MAPS | SPECIALS | YELLOW PAGES | NEWS
