Jekyll convention center opening

[thelakelander]

A new convention center for Jekyll Island is about to open.  The exhibition hall will be 45,000 square feet.  It was constructed for $50 million.

http://www.jekyllisland.com/files/convention-center-brochure.pdf

The governing Jekyll Island Authority said the $50 million, 128,000-square-foot convention center will be finished on schedule and under budget and has 200 meetings and other events booked through 2016.
Those meetings are expected to bring $40 million into the local economy, officials said.

“Jekyll Island’s revitalization efforts are creating jobs for hundreds of Georgians and will continue to lure visitors to the Georgia coast,” Deal said in a release.

Deal said the only beachfront center in the Southeast will offer services and amenities that will rival top destinations around the world.

The first phase of one of those amenities, the Great Dunes Park, has been completed for months and drawing visitors and events. When complete, visitors to the convention center will be able walk directly onto the wide greenspace that provides beach access.

full article: http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2012-02-22/story/jekyll-convention-center-opening-may-21-governors-visit-and-first

[grimss]

I've been out to Jekyll lately for soccer games and they're really tearing things up. The center looks pretty amazing. Clearly part of an effort to elevate the island's profile.

[vicupstate]

http://www.thestate.com/2012/03/11/2187378/jekyll-island-going-after-lost.html