Get a Room! The Expo Center is Back! And Better!

Looking for a place to hold an outdoor picnic, but don’t want to leave the weather to chance? Why not bring the outdoors in and hold your event at the Paducah McCracken County Convention and Expo Center. 40,000-plus square feet of perfectly lovely space awaits your every need!

Mid-Continent University used it for a huge shin-dig last fall. The Home Builders Association Show and the Quilt Show were both huge successes. Even the Purchase Area Sexual Assault Center chose the Convention Center for its fabulously fun Men Who Cook fundraiser this spring. Comic fans flocked there for last weekend’s OMG Con. And today? It’s the staging area for the June 16 Muscular Dystrophy Association Lock Up.

Convention Center vs. The Big E
The reports of the demise of the big, icky Executive Inn are spot on — that bad boy’s coming down.

But the lovely Paducah McCracken County Convention and Expo Center is staying up — there’s absolutely no reason to touch it, especially thanks to its recent multi-million dollar renovation. It’s even more gorgeous than ever!

And the darling Patrick Kerr is there, working tirelessly to book meetings, seminars, trade shows, banquets, weddings and all sorts of other events.

Attention Non-Profits!
Check out Patrick’ special offer: If you are a non-profit organization, he’ll host your next board meeting for free.

“We really want to show off the place,” Patrick says. “Whether your organization is an arts group, charitable group or business association, we would be thrilled to have you.”

The invitation is open to any sized meeting, from small committees to full boards of 40 or more. Patrick will provide everything you need — coffee, iced tea, tables and chairs. All you have to do is contact Patrick, 270.408.1346, and book it!

This offer is limited to non-profit organizations only, based on availability and can only be used once. Groups taking advantage of this offer and then choosing to book another meeting or event will receive an additional 10 percent discount over and above the non-profit discount of 15 percent.

Meet the Rooms 
Still not convinced that the Convention Center is cute? Well, meet these two rooms:

The Lobby
Before last year’s renovation, the Lobby was simply not suitable to use for a function. Now, with new carpet, lighting, fresh paint and floor-to-ceiling windows, the two-story high Convention Center Atrium Lobby is perfect for elegant dinners for up to 120 people. It makes a great wedding reception location and is perfect for a grand registration for an event elsewhere in the Center.

The Lincoln Room
The Lincoln Room is the premier small meeting space in the Convention Center. The wall-to-wall windows let in lots of natural light and give your guests great views of Downtown. Lincoln is perfect for medium-sized board meetings up to around 40 guests. The room also is great for a small luncheons or breakout sessions to go with a larger meeting across the hall in the River Ballroom. 

So, rest assured that the Convention Center is ready for action — see sidebar for events already scheduled there.

How about the rest of the building? Patrick walks us through its final days:

The Demolition Of The Adjacent Hotel
The highlighted area shows the portion of the Hotel slated for demolition. The Convention Center, along with the River Ballrooms (formally the International Rooms) and all the upstairs meeting rooms will remain in great shape.

What’s the real story? 
What’s coming down? What’s not?
It seems that just about everyone knows the Executive Inn Hotel, which is adjacent to the Convention Center, is slated for demolition. However, there seems to be a fair amount of confusion as to exactly how the Hotel will be razed, when the demolition will begin and exactly what part will be torn down.

Because the Hotel is physically attached to the Convention Center, we thought we would take a few paragraphs to clear up some misconceptions and, more importantly, assure our clients and potential clients, that the Convention Center is here to stay, newly renovated and ready to host your next event!

So, let’s address those misconceptions one at a time:

How Will The Hotel Be Demolished?
We have heard everything from blown up to pushed into the river. When all is said and done, the actual demolition of the Hotel will be pretty anti-climatic. Demolition will be done over the course of several months with clawed cranes and bulldozers. The work will begin at the Convention Center, and construction crews will work their way toward the south parking lot near the Farmer’s Market downtown. The Hotel will not be imploded and it will take some time to complete the tear down.

When Will This All Start?
Razing of the Hotel will begin around the end of this summer. The first few days will be spent “surgically” removing the Hotel from the south wall of the Convention Center and then work will continue toward downtown. After the Hotel is separated from the Convention Center, repair work on the wall that connected the two buildings will begin. Disruption to the Convention Center will be minimal. Further, demolition work on the Convention Center end of the Hotel will not be done on days when meetings or events are being held in the facility. On those days, construction crews will do their best to keep the work on the far end of the site.

What’s Going To Happen To The International Rooms?
The simple answer is, Absolutely Nothing! If you take a look at the photo above, you will see where Hotel demolition will begin. The old Silver Saddle also will be razed. The Convention Center, the Ballroom, the small meeting rooms across the hall, the Atrium Lobby and the downstairs meeting rooms will not be torn down. In fact, if you haven’t been in the Convention Center in the last year or so, you probably haven’t seen the multi-million dollar renovation that includes the entire Convention Center space.

What Does All This Mean For The Convention Center?
In the long run, the Convention Center will be in great shape and will be an important part of a new complex that will include a first-class downtown hotel. In the short-term, the construction and demolition of the old Hotel will have very little impact on the Convention Center and will in no way hinder events already planned or future events that have been waiting to book because of the uncertainty surrounding the Hotel.

“We are all very excited at the Convention Center to move forward into this new stage of life,” Patrick says.

For more on the Convention Center, visit the website or contact Patrick, 270.408.1346, to book your event and for a private tour.