Raleigh Convention Center

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Raleigh Convention Center
Raleigh-Convention-Center-Shimmer-Wall-200807-17.jpeg
Side facing McDowell Street along with Shimmer Wall
Address300 S. Salisbury St
Raleigh, NC  27601
Coordinates35°46′25″N 78°38′28″W / 35.77361°N 78.64111°W / 35.77361; -78.64111Coordinates: 35°46′25″N 78°38′28″W / 35.77361°N 78.64111°W / 35.77361; -78.64111
Built2006–2008
OpenedSeptember 5, 2008
Banquet/ballroom12,000 people (15,000 for theatre-style)
Enclosed space
 • Total space150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2)
Website
raleighconvention.com

The Raleigh Convention Center is a convention and exhibition facility in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina that opened in September 2008. The architect was Tvsdesign with the participation of local firms O'Brien/Atkins Associates and Clearscapes.[1]

Description[]

Located at 500 South Salisbury Street, the three-level 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m2) building contains a 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m2) exhibit hall, twenty meeting rooms and a 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m2) ballroom.[2]

The ballroom on the highest level can seat up to 2,715 persons (banquet-style) or 3,630 persons (theater-style). The exhibit hall on the lowest level can hold up to 790 booths or seat up to 6,800 persons (banquet-style) or 9,600 persons (theater-style). Extensive acoustics work was performed to not only provide sound isolation between adjacent activities within the center, but also to control noise output to the surrounding community.[3]

The facility is more than double the size of the older convention center that was erected in 1977, renovated in 1997, and torn down in February 2006.[4] There had been controversy about the older building as well as the site of the new building.[5][6]

The building cost $225 million to construct.[7] A new Marriott hotel named Marriott City Center was built to provide lodging for visitors and now connects to the Convention Center.[8]

The west-facing wall of the new convention center boasts a large public art piece called the 'Shimmer Wall', which was completed in 2009.[9] It contains 80,000 aluminum panels backed by LED lights.[10] The piece is 44 feet tall and 210 feet wide.[9] It is a work of a local artist Thomas Sayre.[9] 'Shimmer Wall' features a giant oak tree, which represents Raleigh's nickname, the 'City of Oaks'. The wall was sponsored by Cree Inc., a local company that manufactures LED lights.[11]

National Agents Alliance held its NAA Leadership Conference on Sept. 11-14, 2008 and was the first convention held in the new center.[12]

Downtown Raleigh Amphitheater[]

On June 4, 2010 the City opened the Downtown Raleigh Amphitheater adjacent to the Convention Center, which seats around about 6,000.[13] It got a sponsor name (Red Hat) in September 2012.[13]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Twardy, Chuck (Aug 31, 2008). "Charming modesty: Raleigh's new convention center performs its job but calls little attention to itself". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  2. ^ "The Facility". Raleigh Convention Center. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  3. ^ "Raleigh Convention Center Acoustics". Archived from the original on May 25, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  4. ^ "Raleigh's Convention Center Destroyed". abclocal.go.com. February 19, 2006. Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  5. ^ Nielsen, Kim (September 13, 2002). "Convention Center site battle". Triangle Business Journal. Archived from the original on March 5, 2003. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  6. ^ "The long, winding road to a new center". The News & Observer. August 31, 2008. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  7. ^ "Costs For Raleigh's New Convention Center Go Up Again". WRAL-TV. November 28, 2006. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  8. ^ deBruyn, Jason (April 19, 2013). "Despite losses, convention center officials maintain facility success". Triangle Business Journal. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c "What's behind downtown Raleigh's 'Shimmer Wall'". ABC11.com. January 7, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  10. ^ Davies, Helen (September 9, 2021). "The Trendiest Shimmer Walls For Branding And Design". frontsigns.com. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  11. ^ "Shimmery Gift Given To Capital City". WRAL-TV. May 16, 2007. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  12. ^ "National Agents Alliance Holds First Conference in Raleigh's Convention Center" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
  13. ^ a b "Red Hat buys naming rights to Raleigh Amphitheater". WRAL-TV. September 4, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2021.

External links[]

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