exhibition hall and meeting spaces allows us to be able to accommodate pretty much any type of event that wants to come to the region,” boasts General Manager, Nate Harris. A FACILITY BUILT FOR SUCCESS Spanning two city blocks, the GRCC boasts a 258-seat auditorium, 33 breakout rooms, a 30,000-squarefoot ballroom, and an exhibition hall capable of accommodating 21,000 attendees during peak events. “In one span weekend, we have a boxing tournament and college graduations going on at the same time,” depicts Director of Sales and Marketing, Tom Uphold. “That shows the versatility of the building itself.”The facility is also able to host a diverse range of events, from boat, auto and wedding shows, to conventions and commencement ceremonies. “We do a ComiCon type event called GalaxyCon, it’s a big consumer show,” Uphold adds. “We truly can host just about any event type situation and have multiple events going on inside the building without them really interfering with each other.” Sports is a rapidly expanding sector for the Greater Richmond Convention Center, driven by strong partnerships with Richmond Region Tourism, local teams such as the Richmond Fencing Club, and elite groups like Team USA. “Of the seven sectors of business that we have here, sports is growing each and every year, and we are finding new events, clients and promoters to work with to bring those athletes to our region and to help book the facility,” says Bryan Panhorst,Assistant GM. Recent and upcoming sporting events include a Team USA Boxing Tournament, volleyball, field hockey, and summer basketball. ADAPTING AND THRIVING POST-COVID COVID brought its share of challenges for the event industry, but GRCC has bounced back stronger than ever.“When everything essentially stopped, there was a lot of uncertainty in our world, in our industry, about where we were headed, where we were going, how quickly we could come back, and what that would look like,” recalls Panhorst. “We are having our best 3 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 02 GREATER RICHMOND CONVENTION CENTER
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