Business View Magazine | November 2019

181 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2019 legislature session when the general assembly and governor approved new legislation creating the Savannah Georgia Convention Center Authority – a new State Authority to oversee the construction and operations of the building. This new structure provides the governor six appointments (a majority) to the board. If the state is going to take the lead on this high profile project, the Governor and state officials wanted input. The new legislation also provided the new Authority with the ability to issue bonds. Once completed, the new SCC will have 200,000 square feet of exhibit hall space; a second ballroom, which at 40,000 square feet will be almost double the size of its current one at 25,000 square feet; an additional 24,000 square feet of breakout meeting space, and a 900-space parking garage. The Center will then move from being the 157th largest convention center in the country to somewhere near 75th in size. “It puts us in a different realm as far as being able to attract larger meetings and groups,” says Smith. “It will also give us the ability to support the increased room counts that we have achieved in Chatham County. We have over a thousand new rooms that have opened in downtown Savannah in the last 18 months, or that will open very soon. We have another 1,000 rooms on the drawing board, so we’ll be able to support the room block that we have. We’re now pushing 18,000 rooms.” Spinks agrees that the expansion will not only satisfy the Center’s traditional clients, but will also allow it to better compete with the large regional centers in other destination cities, such as Nashville, San Antonio, New Orleans, Orlando, and Ft. Lauderdale. “We know of more than 50 customers that need more space, so, first, we’ll secure our long-term customers,” she says, “and then, we’ll certainly go after the other customers that want to come to our facility, but due to space limitations have not been able to make Savannah home for their event.” While the SCC’s new expansion will undoubtedly usher in some welcome changes, Smith asserts that some things will remain the same. The new Authority will still contract with the Georgia THE SAVANNAH CONVENT ION CENTER