Now that the American Bowling Congress has started its annual tournament in the newly remodeled and expanded Salt Palace Convention Center, it's time to look at just what the facility offers for convention planners.
Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau officials said the Salt Palace is booked for three months, forcing postponement of the grand opening ceremony until mid-May.More than 90 meetings, conventions and trade shows are scheduled into the building between now and 2002 that will bring an estimated 641,200 people to the Salt Lake area and they will spend an estimated $550 million. They expect other groups to be booked in coming months.
A six-story glass and steel cylinder marks the main entrance, and at night the lighting is unusual. The renovation and expansion projects took 6,000 tons of steel, 30,000 cubic yards of concrete, 300,000 feet of electrical wire and 15,000 gallons of paint.
Here are the features of the facility:
- 256,000 square feet of exhibit space, about the size of 51/2 football fields.
- 54,000 square feet of meeting space in 51 rooms that can accommodate between 30 and 1,800 people.
- A 36,000-square-foot ballroom seating 2,500 for a meal and 4,000 for a meeting.
- It is within walking distance of hotels with 3,500 rooms with a total of 13,000 rooms in the Salt Lake area. More than 90 restaurants are only a few blocks away as are shopping malls, art, sports and historical attractions.
- Ten major airlines provide more than 650 daily flights to and from the Salt Lake International Airport, which is only a nine-minute drive from downtown.
- Service corridors exceed the industry standard and there is a 13,000-square-foot kitchen.
- Flexible breakout rooms that have separately controlled light and audio equipment.
- A 40-foot glass wall on one side of the exhibit hall providing delegates with a second floor view of trade show activity.
- A visitor information center at the main entrance offering information brochures, maps of Salt Lake attractions and a gift shop.
- Men's restrooms can be converted into women's restrooms during a convention with a high percentage of women.
- Higher and wider drive-in doors on the freight docks, ramps that lead directly from the street and two separate dock access points in the ballroom.
- Outdoor exhibit space adjacent to indoor exhibit space that will be valuable for conventions and trade shows that focus on outdoor activities.
- There is an emphasis on natural light with skylights and hundreds of windows.
- There is satellite uplink capability, and there are state-of-the-art fiber optics. It is expected the Salt Palace will be the media center during the 2002 Winter Olympics.