Convention centers moving forward in Provo, Pleasant Grove

PROVO — Local elected officials and business leaders shared their ideas Tuesday for a proposed 80,000-square-foot convention center in the Utah County seat.

Utah County Commissioner Steve White called it "a visioning meeting," during which community members and architects discussed what the center should include and how it should look. The proposed site for the center is a block west of the Provo Marriott, 101 W. 100 North.

A 2 1/2-month, $79,000 conceptual-design study is under way to answer questions such as how much parking would be needed and which direction the center should face, said Paul Glauser, Provo's Redevelopment Agency director.

The convention center ultimately would be a county project because the main source of funding would come from hotel tax.

By the end of June, architects should have at least six conceptual designs of the building, said Don Nay, Utah County's assistant public works director. The architects will then discuss the plans and decide on one during a series of meetings. Nay said he hopes to have at least one of those meetings at a time when the public can look at the plans and offer feedback.

Construction on the convention center could start as early as next spring, Glauser said.

The convention center would accommodate community meetings that have outgrown other buildings and attract business groups that periodically change meeting locales, he said. The ballroom would hold between 1,500 and 1,800 people.

Currently, Provo has the only full-service hotel in Utah County — the Marriott, Glauser said. County officials expect that a convention center in Provo's unique downtown would attract companies to the area.

"This will be another important element in revitalizing downtown Provo," Glauser said.

Initially, there was some concern among government officials and business leaders about building a convention center in Provo when the Embassy Suites and Convention Center is moving forward in Pleasant Grove. But White said the centers would appeal to different markets.

Richard Bradford, Pleasant Grove's director for economic development, said the convention centers will be "as different as apples and oranges."

The Embassy Suites and Convention Center will attract larger meetings with its larger convention space, Bradford said. The Provo center would appeal more to in-state, multi-state and regional conferences, Glauser said.

Financing for the Pleasant Grove conference center has been obtained and the project has gone out to bid, Bradford said. Construction likely will begin this summer and could be complete by spring 2011, he said.

The nine-story hotel and convention center is planned for the northeast corner of the intersection of I-15 and Pleasant Grove Boulevard. The center will be 100,000 square feet and include 280 guest suites, with a dining room capable of hosting 2,700 people, Bradford said.

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