For more information, contact:
Meghan Risch, 312.567.8540
(CHICAGO) March 12, 2007—Chicago maintains its strong reputation as a premier convention destination with the opening of McCormick Place West, the newest addition to the McCormick Place Campus. Set to open August 2007, the new building is seeing strong pre-opening booking numbers. To date, 66 meetings have been confirmed for future years, representing close to 1.5 million room nights and generating an estimated $921 million in direct expenditures for the City of Chicago.
"We've seen a 149% increase in medical meetings held in Chicago in the last two years and the West Building is perfectly suited to host those meetings," said Juan Ochoa, Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), the owner and operator of McCormick Place. "We're on track to be the medical meetings headquarters of the world."
“The West Building was built with our customers in mind. We received input from our clients to get a better understanding of their wants and needs in order to ultimately allow this new state-of-the-art facility to be configured in a way to meet the unique needs of our clients,” said Tim Roby, CCTB President and CEO. “The design of the new building is a direct result from those conversations.”
McCormick Place West will include 470,000 square feet of exhibition space and 250,000 square feet of meeting-room space.
“The addition of McCormick Place West allows the CCTB the opportunity to aggressively attract new business,” said Theis. “In fact, almost 70% of the business already booked for the West Building is new incremental business; complementing the solid foundation of existing confirmed business in other buildings."
Some of this new business includes, first-time customer, American Academy of Neurology, who will hold its annual convention at McCormick West April 14-17, 2008. The show, one of the largest gatherings of neurology professionals, is expected to attract 10,000 attendees, generating an estimated $14 million in direct expenditures for the City of Chicago.
“The American Academy of Neurology is thrilled to host its 2008 annual convention in Chicago, particularly in the new McCormick Place West Building,” said Christine Phelps, Associate Executive Director, Center for Education, Science and Convention Management. “Chicago is an exciting city that is a strong draw for our meeting attendees around the world and an ideal location for our medical-based meeting.”
True Value Company will occupy 235,000 net square feet of the McCormick Place West Building for its 2009 and 2013 meetings. Each meeting is expected to attract 15,000 attendees and generate an estimated $16 million in direct expenditures for the City of Chicago.
“True Value has developed a successful partnership with the CCTB,” said Susan Katz, Director of Corporate Events, True Value Company. “I know that our strong relationships will ensure our continued success with our future meetings in the new West Building.”
Upon completion, the McCormick Place Campus will boast a total of 2.7 million square feet of exhibit and meeting space.
All-Candy Expo®, the first citywide meeting to be held in the building, will take place September 17-19, 2007. It is expected to attract 18,000 attendees and generate an estimated $17 million in direct expenditures for the city of Chicago.
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