The Neal Kocurek Memorial Austin Convention Center is a multi-purpose convention center located in Austin, Texas, USA. The building is also home to the Austin Toros basketball team with a seating capacity of 3,200.
The Convention Center encloses 881,400 square feet (81,880 m2). The five exhibit halls combined have 246,097 square feet (22,863.2 m2) of column-free space. There are 54 meeting rooms and two ballrooms, including one of the largest ballrooms in Texas with 43,300 square feet (4,020 m2).[1]
The origin of the convention center goes back to 1983, when civic leaders became concerned that Austin was losing money from potential convention business because the city's current convention facility, Palmer Auditorium, was too small. The Austin city council unveiled a concept for a $35 million convention center as part of a $350 million complex of hotels and parkland on the south shore of Town Lake (now Lady Bird Lake). Resistance to this plan by neighborhood groups near the proposed site and downtown business leaders caused the city to consider several other sites, finally choosing the downtown site near Waller Creek for construction. Financing was provided for by a US$69 million bond sale, approved by referendum on July 29, 1989 [2]. The grand opening ceremony took place on July 4, 1992 [3]
On September 1, 1999, construction aimed at nearly doubling the size of the convention center from 441,000 square feet to 881,000 square feet began.[4]. The grand reopening took place on May 18, 2002.[5]
The Austin City Council changed the name of the Austin Convention Center on July 29, 2004 to honor civic leader Dr. W. Neal Kocurek (1936-2004), who helped rally community support for construction of a convention center for Austin. Kocurek died after suffering a stroke on March 29, 2004. The formal dedication took place on December 2, 2004.[1]
References
- ^ a b City to unveil plaque honoring civic leader Neal Kocurek
- ^ "Convention center bond sale passes". The Daily Texan. July 31, 1989.
- ^ "City Convention Center opens on time, with style". The Daily Texan. July 6, 1992.
- ^ "Convention Center expansion could boost economic impact". The Daily Texan. September 2, 1999.
- ^ Community Open House to unveil Convention Center expansion with Austin flair
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Coordinates: 30°15′45.10″N 97°44′24.43″W / 30.262528°N 97.7401194°W
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