Cedar Rapids Breaks Ground on Convention Complex
August 30, 2011
The City of Cedar Rapids is building a new downtown convention complex, which includes the renovation of the attached U.S. Cellular Center arena and the former Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Hotel. The complex will be completed in spring 2013.
Following several months of demolition, on Tuesday, August 30, Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett kicked off the groundbreaking. 
The Cedar Rapids Convention Complex includes a new flexible exhibit hall, ballrooms, meeting rooms and pre-function space, plus a renovated events arena and renovated 238-room hotel with an additional ballroom and meeting room space. Overall, the complex will feature approximately 72,300 square feet of exhibit space, 13,000 square feet of ballroom space and 5,000 square feet of meeting room space. In addition, the hotel portion of the project will feature a full-service, up-scale hotel with approximately 19,500 square feet of additional meeting room space.
The Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has begun marketing the complex and is accepting RFPs for 2013 and beyond. For additional project information visit http://www.cedar-rapids.com/convention-complex/.
View an interactive project model at http://www.cedarrapidsconventioncenter.com/interactive-project-model.
View video from today’s groundbreaking event at http://www.youtube.com/user/cracvb
Sample of Conventions & Events Scheduled for New Cedar Rapids Convention Complex
•2013 & 2014 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships
•2014 Iowa Library Association Annual Conference
•2014 Iowa Water Environment Association Annual Conference
•2015 Iowa League of Cities Annual Conference & Exhibit
About the Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau The Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CRACVB) is where the experience starts for visitors, residents and organizations. The CRACVB is responsible for attracting new destination events to the community, providing service and support to existing and repeat events, providing comprehensive information to area visitors and helping drive decisions of future visitor product development. Locally the organization encourages community pride and educates the community on the value of visitors, tourism and travel. Tourism resulted in domestic travel spending of $402.2 million in Linn County in 2009 and employed 5,430 people in Linn County. For more information about the CRACVB visit: www.cedar-rapids.com
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Categories: General