Business View Magazine May 2023

132 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 5 For more than 75 years, we’ve been the Pacific Northwest’s most trusted and dynamic partner producing tailored solutions that transform and future-proof your technology. From the planning stages, design, and installation to maintenance, upgrades, and follow-through, we customize our work according to your specific needs. We design-build and manage projects across a wide range of disciplines: • AUDIO VISUAL & SOUND INSTALLATIONS • CUSTOM COMMUNICATIONS • STRUCTURED VOICE AND DATA CABLING • FIRE ALARM + LIFE SAFETY • SECURITY We are your solution and your support. We’re synched, seamless, and at your service! And we’re ready to get to work for you. In varied environments — from classrooms and convention centers to cinemas and stadiums — no job is beyond the scope of our team or our services. Bring your ideas to us. We’ll bring them to life! * Local businesses * Government entities * Education service districts * Manufacturing * Healthcare * Corporate * Industrial We are family-owned and union strong. That means our roots in the Northwest don’t just run deep; they run far and wide, too. We are GB Manchester: Custom solutions that overcome communication barriers. Get in touch with us today https://gbmanchester.com/contact-us/ Collaboration from Concept to Completion OREGON CONVENT ION CENTER Opened in 1990, the facility underwent an expansion in 2003 and a major renovation in 2018. Today, Oregon Convention Center comprises 255,000 square feet of exhibit hall space, 52 meeting rooms, two grand ballrooms, along with a variety of multi- purpose meeting rooms and office spaces. “We have roughly 10,000 hotel rooms within what we consider our general geographic area of downtown Portland. Typically, pre- pandemic, we were in the 500,000 to 600,000 annual attendee range across 550 events,” describes Craig Stroud, OCC Executive Director. “Of those 550 events, 50 to 60 would be city-wide conventions or large consumer shows like the Pacific Northwest International Auto Show or Rose City Comic Con. The remainder is everything from a small business meeting to a fundraising gala, a lot of community-related events and support.” COVID paused the happenings at OCC, with the facility canceling all events in March 2020, following public health orders at the time. Stroud recounts, “We stopped doing our primary service to our region, which was hosting meetings, conventions, and events. For about a 15-month window, we were completely out of our normal operating model and mission.” A love of nature and the arts is evident within the venue, where a $2.5 million investment has been made into public art, and nature is reflected throughout.