Growth of Convention Centers across the Country Essay

Growth of Convention Centers across the Country - Essay Example In the United States of America, convention center is becoming a part and parcel of every day life. The recent mushrooming of convention centers in every nook and corner of the country itself is a proof of its fast development and necessity. In simple terms convention center is a large meeting place where formal business and professional meetings, conferences etc. are arranged. According to Atlantic City Convention Center, convention center is the "Facility designed to accommodate multiple group s or extremely large groups; exhibit halls; meeting rooms, ball rooms or banquet space; no sleeping rooms." (Glossary of Terms. Convention Center, 2007). The logic behind conducting business and other formal meetings in a convention center is that it is common place where people from different parts of the country/world can reach and assemble in a common place which is convenient to all. Originally convention centers were designed for formal business meeting, conferences. In contrast to this, modern convention centers are being used for a number of occasions including social events such as marriages, family get-together and as parking place for tourists. The spurt of tourism development the world over has made a great fillip for convention centers and they have grown in such a way that both are complementary to each other. Convention centers enable the development of tourism industry in a big way by attracting both domestic and international travelers. They have become a vital element in the tourism industry as some customers specify the name of convention centers where they would like to stay and enjoy their leisure time. It is a co mmon fact that MICE industry has no existence without convention center. The letter 'c' in the acronym stands for convention. That itself reflects that convention center enhances the scope of MICE industry and that they are complementary to each other. Another group of beneficiary of convention centers is corporate. Conducting meeting and conferences at convention center has become the order of the day among corporate people not only because of convenience but for prestige issue as well. Corporate have regular meeting, conferences and events like product launching and all these are being happened at some important convention center. Convention centers have emerged as a focal point in an intense competition among cities for a share of the economically important meetings and exhibition market. In a nut shell, convention centers have grown to become a crucial element of social, professional and corporate life. Their contributions to these various segments are priceless and remarkable. Evolution of Convention Centers in United States of America: The American communities have experienced a sudden growth of convention centers and it facilities over the last two decades. The country had 193 convention centers in the year 1986 offering minimum 25,000 square feet of exhibit space. The number rose to 254 and 322 by 1996 and 2006 consecutively. Their exhibition space also rose by 150 percent increase. The amount of investment put up by the state and local government in the year 1993 alone was $23.2 billion. (Sanders, 2007, p.2). The spurt in the development in the sector has made the giants like Chicago's McCormick and Las Vegas to enhance their exhibit space. The government has been financially supportive to pen new centers and