Iconic twin towers are a signature feature of the Oregon Convention Center.
Scott Cruickshank, executive director, Oregon Convention Center, Portland, feels there is really only one reason why that center, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last month, is still the hub of the wheel driving over $500 million annually in local economic impact.
“It is the commitment of the staff,” Cruickshank said. “The building has been very well maintained. The staff takes very good care of it and always has. It is a point of pride.”
The Oregon Convention Center, owned by the Metropolitan City of Portland, opened in 1990 with a price tag of $65 million. Designed by architectural firm Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects, the 320-foot twin spire towers sitting atop the center providing light into the building's interior have become signatures for the center.
The original building was paid for by Portland taxpayers. When it underwent a $110-million expansion in 2003, an increase in occupancy tax paid by visitors footed the bill.
As a result of the expansion, Oregon Convention Center, with 255,000 sq. ft. of contiguous exhibit space, is the largest convention center in the Pacific Northwest. The center offers drive-in access from street-level entries and has 50 meeting rooms with 18-foot ceilings, two grand ballrooms, 34,200 square feet and 25,200 square feet, and an 800-space underground parking garage, full service catering with a hugely varied range of concession options; and an 800-space underground parking garage.
And, since opening in 1990, Oregon Convention Center has generated $4.7 billion in regional economic impact as a result of its business, measured by direct tourist and indirect business spending in the tricounty metropolitan area.
With these numbers and with construction plans for a new 600-room convention hotel to be operated by Hyatt Corporation on the books, updates, upgrades and maintenance are part of daily operations.
Matt Pizzuti, deputy director, said it is important to keep up with painting and cleaning, their routine maintenance. And, it is just as important to stay on top of everything that is new, especially in technology.
Client and event attendee surveys they have been conducted on a regular basis in Portland have focused on the importance of technology, good food and easy access.
Aramark has been the food and beverage operator at the building since 1999. However, Pizzuti said that company created an exclusive brand for Oregon Convention Center, the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, and Portland Expo Center. Called pacificwild Catering, Pizzuti said this exclusive brand gives the chef an opportunity to work with local sustainable food systems. Yet, it also continues to give the concessionaire the buying power of Aramark.
Pizzuti said the center hosts between 450 and 500 events a year. Included in that number are 45 or so conventions.
"We have many science and high-tech groups here," Pizzuti said.
In fact, the Supercomputing Conference, a premier high-tech show presented by the Association for Computing Machinery and the IEEE Computer Society, has been to Portland three times, one of only two cities the show has visited that many times.
"This is a very unique event," Pizzuti said. "It brings in between 10,000 and 12,000 people. It fills the entire city. We have heard that when that show is in a city, there is more ‘computering’ going on at one time than any other place in the world. We have tons of international folks for that show."
A brand new event set for March 2016 is the International Association of Track and Field Indoor World Championships. For that event, the presenters will construct a 200-meter banked indoor track along with stadium seating for up to 7,000 people, all within Exhibit Halls C & D.
This one event will be in the center for a month.
"This event hasn't been held in the U.S. since 1987," he said. "And, it has never been held in a convention center. It will be shown on ESPN live. We are very excited."
There are other things in which center staff and city officials are excited. The convention center staff has been very committed to sustainability efforts, efforts that have paid off.
In 2004, the Oregon Convention Center was the first convention center to earn the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Existing Buildings certificate. In 2008, the facility was recertified at the Silver level. Last year, the center was certified at the Platinum level, the highest level of certification.
Currently, construction is underway on what is anticipated to be one of the largest solar arrays on a convention center in the U.S. More than 6,500 rooftop solar panels are expected to produce 25 percent of the facility’s electricity. The system is estimated to be in service this fall.
“One of our core values is sustainability,” Cruickshank said. “The rooftop solar installation will help us meet our carbon emission reduction goals, offset utility costs and provide an important learning opportunity for our convention center visitors and guests.”
The solar installation will be constructed and operated by SolarCity, which was awarded the project through a competitive bidding process. The project was financially supported by Pacific Power Blue Sky SM renewable energy program and Energy Trust of Oregon.
Beginning January 2016, the center's new waste diversion policy aimed at decreasing use of nonrecyclable material will begin. All clients that book spaces as well as exhibitors who subcontract space during these events will be subject to a waste diversion deposit at contract signing. The potential for receiving a full refund is high if show managers comply with the facility's policies that prohibits the use of nonrecyclable materials.
Cruickshank and Pizzuti, as well as all of the convention staff and city leaders, feel the one missing piece to over-the-top success is an adjacent convention hotel.