Everything about The Georgia World Congress Center totally explained
The
Georgia World Congress Center or
GWCC is the major
convention center in
Atlanta. It is the fourth-largest convention center in the
United States at 1.4 million ft
2 (130,000 m
2) and hosts more than a million visitors each year. At the time opened in 1976 the Georgia World Congress Center was the first state owned Convention Center the United States. The A, B, and C buildings of the GWCC (the actual Convention Center),
Centennial Olympic Park and the
Georgia Dome are all run by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority under the auspices of the
State of Georgia and funding for new expansions and other major project come from the
Georgia General Assembly.
The GWCC is located in downtown Atlanta at 285 Andrew Young International Blvd. NE, adjacent to Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia Dome,
CNN Center and the
Philips Arena. Public transportation is serviced by the
Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center MARTA station.
The GWCC was designed by Atlanta-based architects
Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates (TVS) and is made up of three adjacent buildings, Buildings A, B, and C. In total these buildings have twelve exhibit halls, 105 meeting rooms, and two ballrooms. Building A has three exhibit halls and the
Sidney Marcus auditorium seating 1,740. Building B, the largest, contains five exhibit halls and the 33,000 square-foot (3,065 m
2)
Thomas B. Murphy Ballroom. The newest building, Building C, has four exhibit halls and the 25,700 square-foot (2,387 m
2) Georgia Ballroom. Other amenities include a FedEx Kinko's office, Starbucks coffee shops, a gift shop, internet access, telephone service, and full IT management provided by
CCLD (Convention Center Long Distance), a
concierge desk, and a food court plus another restaurant. Freight rail tracks (owned by
CSX Transportation) run through the middle of the complex and under the parking decks. The complex incorporates pedestrian bridges to connect exhibit halls on opposite sides of the tracks.
The GWCC opened in
1976 with 350,000 square feet (32,516 m
2) of exhibit space. Additional phases opened in
1985,
1992, and
2002. During the
1996 Summer Olympics, the GWCC hosted
fencing,
handball,
judo,
table tennis,
weightlifting,
wrestling, and the fencing portion of the
modern pentathlon. The International Broadcast Center for the worldwide media was also set up inside the GWCC. On
November 8,
2001, President
George W. Bush made a speech at the GWCC in which he exhorted the crowd of
police,
firefighters, and
politicians, "My fellow Americans,
Let's roll!"
(External Link
), a phrase he'd later use at the 2002 State of the Union address.
Every year, the GWCC holds the
SEC Football Fanfare in one of its convention halls, usually Halls C1 and C2, joined together to create one large exhibition hall. Fanfare is a huge event in early December that occurs simultaneously along with the
SEC Championship Game, held in the
Georgia Dome. For the 2 day event, thousands of
Southeastern Conference football fans attend to see the festivities.
2008 Atlanta Tornado
On
14 March 2008, a
tornado struck
Atlanta, including the
downtown area. The Georgia World Congress Center was heavily damaged by the storm, including roof and water damage. In addition to rain pouring in from the holes in the roof, there was also water damage from the sprinkler system and broken water pipes. The extent of the damage led to the cancellation of immediate events. After the disaster, a letter was posted on the
GWCC's website detailing the closure of the GWCC. However, the facility along with the nearby Georgia Dome was able to be repaired enough to host the
FIRST Robotics World Championship during the dates of April 18-20. The tornado was the first to hit the downtown area since weather record keeping began in the 1880s.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Georgia World Congress Center'.
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