Business View Magazine - September 2016 103
1987, the DCC hosted 209 events; by 1988, there
were 390. “So it showed an immediate increase,” she
states. Owned and operated by the City of Dayton, the
Center has not had the type of full renovation activity
that it had in the mid-‘80s; rather there have been con-
tinual upgrades to, and maintenance of, the existing
structure. Today, the facility has up to 150,000 square
feet of floor space, with 22 meeting rooms equipped
with high-speed Wi-Fi, enhanced lighting and sound
systems, and videoconferencing capabilities. The fully-
equipped theater seats up to 750, with a raised or-
chestra pit and six dressing rooms.
Barrow considers the DCC a “tweener” type of facility
– it’s not large enough to host the biggest events; its
niche is small- to medium-sized conventions and meet-
ings. “Anywhere from 500 to 4,000,” she says. “That
seems to be an awesome sell for our facility; they fit in
nicely here.” A typical client is the Interchurch Holiness
Convention. “They’ve been here 40-plus years and
they have approximately 3,500 to 4,000 attendees
in their general session,” she explains. “But they also
use the meeting rooms during the day for their youth
sessions and the entire facility is theirs while they’re
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
The Dayton Convention Center
WHAT:
Ohio’s first “synergy center”
WHERE:
Dayton, Ohio
WEBSITE
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