Puerto Rico Convention Center
Encyclopedia
The Dr. Pedro Rosselló González, Puerto Rico Convention Center (PRCC) (or Centro de Convenciones de Puerto Rico Dr. Pedro Rosselló González in Spanish) is a convention center
located in Isla Grande (recently named the Convention Center District), in San Juan, Puerto Rico
owned by the Puerto Rico Convention District Authority, a government agency of Puerto Rico, and managed by SMG. Designed by tvsdesign, it is the largest convention center in the Caribbean and the most technologically advanced in Latin America
.
.
, a 96-unit residential building, office buildings with 50000 feet (15,240 m) of commercial space, a retail and entertainment complex, a cinema, waterfront cafes, restaurants and walkways.
The main project is the anchor hotel, which began construction on August 28, 2006 and is projected to open in 2009. The hotel was designed under the idea of an "urban resort", and will feature a casino
, ballrooms, a music hall, restaurants and will have 500 rooms. Its main feature will be a rooftop pool with cabanas, tropical gardens and views of Old San Juan and the harbor.
The Puerto Rican government selected Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
, under its Sheraton flag, to operate the reported $209 million facility.
The facility was designed and constructed to be the most technologically advanced center in Latin America. It can provide broadband
and wireless
Internet connectivity, video conferencing, and simultaneous language translations, among others throughout the center. All meeting rooms and ballrooms are equipped with Ethernet
connection and capabilities. It also has a Business Center which assists business guests and attendees by providing computer and typewriter rental, printing, secretarial service, copying, fax transmission and receipt, package shipping, office products, and other services. A Central Security Office is located within the center, and provides 24 hour security and medical assistance, and modifies it services depending on the activities' and organizers' needs. The Center also has inhouse catering, concessions and cleaning services for any and all activities.
The Puerto Rico Convention Bureau (PRCB) has received four top meeting and convention industry awards, including Meetings & Conventions’ 2006 Gold Service Award, Successful Meetings’ 2006 Pinnacle Award, Corporate & Incentive Travel's 2006 Award of Excellence and Association Meetings’ Inner Circle Award.
Convention center
A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees...
located in Isla Grande (recently named the Convention Center District), in San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
owned by the Puerto Rico Convention District Authority, a government agency of Puerto Rico, and managed by SMG. Designed by tvsdesign, it is the largest convention center in the Caribbean and the most technologically advanced in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
Planification and construction
The Convention Center has a signature roof imitating a wave, whose theme continues throughout the facility from the 30,000 sq/ft chandelier to the custom designed carpets and door pulls.Location
The PRCC is located in the San Juan peninsula known as the historical district of Miramar in what used to be a US Naval Base in Isla Grande. The PRCC is strategically located next to the Isla Grande Airport and the Pan American Port Terminal in order to facilitate guest travel to the Center. Other points of interest nearby are Old San Juan, the Condado district, the San Juan Central Park (Parque Central in Spanish), and Plaza Las AméricasPlaza Las Américas
Plaza Las Américas is a shopping mall in Hato Rey, San Juan, Puerto Rico, located at the intersection of Routes 18 and 22. It is near the Roberto Clemente Coliseum, the Hiram Bithorn Stadium, and the WKAQ-TV's studios. "Plaza", as it is known to many Puerto Ricans, was the first indoor mall built...
.
The PRCC District
The PRCC is part of a planned Puerto Rico Convention Center District (master planned by Sasaki Associates), including a hotelHotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, a 96-unit residential building, office buildings with 50000 feet (15,240 m) of commercial space, a retail and entertainment complex, a cinema, waterfront cafes, restaurants and walkways.
The main project is the anchor hotel, which began construction on August 28, 2006 and is projected to open in 2009. The hotel was designed under the idea of an "urban resort", and will feature a casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
, ballrooms, a music hall, restaurants and will have 500 rooms. Its main feature will be a rooftop pool with cabanas, tropical gardens and views of Old San Juan and the harbor.
The Puerto Rican government selected Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is a hospitality ownership and management organization, headquartered in White Plains, New York. One of the world's largest hotel companies, it owns, operates, franchises and manages hotels, resorts, spas, residences, and vacation ownership properties...
, under its Sheraton flag, to operate the reported $209 million facility.
Facilities and Services
The convention center is able to accommodate groups of up to 25,000 people with a total space of 580000 square feet (53,883.8 m²) and 152700 square feet (14,186.3 m²) of total exhibit space subdivided into three halls, all on one level. The center has adjacent parking lots with a total capacity of 1,800 vehicles, although this may be increased in the future.The facility was designed and constructed to be the most technologically advanced center in Latin America. It can provide broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
and wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
Internet connectivity, video conferencing, and simultaneous language translations, among others throughout the center. All meeting rooms and ballrooms are equipped with Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
connection and capabilities. It also has a Business Center which assists business guests and attendees by providing computer and typewriter rental, printing, secretarial service, copying, fax transmission and receipt, package shipping, office products, and other services. A Central Security Office is located within the center, and provides 24 hour security and medical assistance, and modifies it services depending on the activities' and organizers' needs. The Center also has inhouse catering, concessions and cleaning services for any and all activities.
Awards and accolades
The Puerto Rico Convention Center won the Prime Site Award of Excellence, one of 64 sites selected from the U.S. and Canada. Voted on by meeting planners and other industry members and awarded by Facilities Media Group, publishers of Facilities & Destinations magazine, the Prime Site Award is an annual recognition of special achievement. "Winning the Prime Site Award is particularly fulfilling for the SMG and Puerto Rico Convention District Authority team because facilities must be nominated by users in order to be considered for these awards", said Thom Connors, senior regional vice president of SMG, the facility's management company. "To be selected within the first year of operations is an acknowledgment of the extraordinary effort made by the Puerto Rico Convention team to create a world-class operation during what essentially was its start-up phase."The Puerto Rico Convention Bureau (PRCB) has received four top meeting and convention industry awards, including Meetings & Conventions’ 2006 Gold Service Award, Successful Meetings’ 2006 Pinnacle Award, Corporate & Incentive Travel's 2006 Award of Excellence and Association Meetings’ Inner Circle Award.