SMG Management contract extended for Greater Columbus Convention Center

Once again, the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority (FCCFA) Board of Directors has awarded to SMG a contract renewal to continue managing the award-winning Greater Columbus Convention Center.

The three-year contract renewal period begins January 1, 2012, and is followed by a two-year option.

“SMG and the FCCFA have amassed a number of shared accomplishments since our affiliation began in 1997,” said SMG regional general manager Craig M. Liston. “We are gratified by the vote of confidence the FCCFA Board of Directors and Executive Director Bill Jennison have shown in the SMG brand.”

The Greater Columbus Convention Center is one of the busiest convention facilities in the continent and SMG’s ninth-largest convention center in terms of exhibit space with 410,000 square feet. The Center, located in downtown Columbus, hosted an estimated 2.5 million visitors in 2010, along with 347 events and 844 event days. The facility is owned and developed by the FCCFA.

“We continue to be very pleased with SMG’s management of the facility,” said FCCFA executive director William C. Jennison. “SMG managed operations through the expansion of the facility in 2001 and most recently the $40 million renovation of Battelle Grand. The facility staff and the SMG corporate office continue to provide exemplary support of our convention center operations and shared goals.”

The venue annually hosts events ranging from the Arnold Sports Festival, a multi-sport festival attracting more than 175,000 attendees and more athletes than the Olympics, to the OFA Short Course, a horticultural show that is one of the nation’s Top 200 trade shows.

“SMG’s management and the ongoing reinvestment in the venue by the FCCFA have been the primary catalysts in enhancing the continual success of this facility,” said FCCFA board chairman John S. Christie.