Colorado Convention Center

The Colorado Convention Center (CCC) is a multi-purpose meeting facility centrally located in downtown Denver, Colorado. Within blocks of the Colorado State Capitol, it is among the landmarks of Denver.

History

The Colorado Convention Center underwent a $340 million major expansion that was completed in December 2004. The expansion doubled the size of the facility which now consists of of exhibit space, of meeting rooms, and of ballroom space. The expansion of the facility also included the spectacular 5,000 seat Wells Fargo Theatre The CCC is now 2.2 million gross square feet.

The CCC also boasts an attached 1,000 space, 3-level parking structure as well as its own RTD (Regional Transportation District) Light Rail stop for even easier accessibility.

Company Profile

The Colorado Convention Center is owned by the City and County of Denver but is privately managed by SMG. SMG was founded in 1977 and manages convention centers, exhibition halls and trade centers, arenas, stadiums, performing arts centers, theaters, and specific-use venues such as equestrian centers around the world. Currently, SMG manages 1.5 million arena seats, 98% of the publicly-owned exhibition space in North America, and over of convention center space. The SMG managed facilities collectively host thousands of events each year and over 30 million event attendees.

Location

The CCC is located between 14th Street and Speer Boulevard, and between Champa Street and Welton Street. Stout Street runs underneath the building, as does the (RTD) Light Rail's Central Corridor. Currently the D, F and H lines run through this corridor's stop.

The Hyatt Regency Denver, completed around the same time as the CCC expansion, is located across 14th Street from the Center and is one of Denver's Top Ten tallest buildings with 38 floors for a height of . Across Welton Street, on the historic registry, is the Denver Athletic Club

The CCC is linked by a pedestrian bridge across Champa Street to the Denver Performing Arts Complex with its nine theatres. It is across Welton Street from the Emily Griffith Opportunity School. The University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and the Community College of Denver are all located to the west across Speer Boulevard at the Auraria Campus.

The Colorado Convention Center is central to many other downtown attractions including: the 16th Street Mall, the Denver Pavilions, the LoDo (Lower Downtown) district, the Pepsi Center- home of the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Crush and the Colorado Mammoth, Coors Field- home of the Colorado Rockies, Denver's Downtown Aquarium, Elitch Gardens amusement park, and the Denver Botanic Gardens.

Events

The CCC hosts hundreds of events each year from local community luncheons to City-wide conventions. Some of the annual events include:

The Wells Fargo Theatre is quickly gaining popularity as a music venue. In 2007 it was rated in Pollstar among the Top 100 Worldwide Theatre Venues. Some of the acts that have graced the stage are:

Bruce Springsteen (opened the Theatre in early 2005)
Jonas Brothers
Wheel of Fortune Denver Tour
Dane Cook
Melissa Ethridge
John Legend
Rob Thomas
Drew Carey
Dolly Parton
David Gray
Ron White
Alicia Keys
Jamie Foxx
David Spade
Neil Young
Al Gore
The Cheetah Girls
Crosby, Stills and Nash

References

Colorado Convention Center Management- June 12, 2008
www.smgworld.com
www.denverconvention.com

External links

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Last updated on Tuesday September 23, 2008 at 12:39:21 PDT (GMT -0700)
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