Meet with success at the Puerto Rico Convention Center.(Special Advertising Feature)(Advertisement)

With the opening of the new Puerto Rico Convention Center, technology will converge with the tropics to provide inspirational business meetings and events. The spectacular 580,000 square-foot facility is expected to redefine the meeting experience when it opens in summer 2005 as part of the largest waterfront development project in the history of the United States and its territories.

Situated on 113 acres in San Juan's Isla Grande, convenient to San Juan, the Puerto Rico Convention Center will be the focal point of a dynamic new $415 million destination: The Puerto Rico Convention Center District. The visionary urban center will enable guests to experience the distinctiveness of the island in a gathering place for shopping, education, recreation and entertainment.

The Puerto Rico Convention Center, which is also nearby the Luiz Munoz Marin International Airport, the Condado hotels and tourist district, will accommodate large conventions, trade shows, consumer shows and congresses, placing Puerto Rico in the forefront of meeting destinations.

Groups have already begun to book the new Convention Center, whose unique interior and bold architectural design entices guests to explore the ocean, rainforest and Old San Juan when coming to do business on the island.

The Caribbean Sea is the inspiration for the center's lobby, which has a roof shaped like a giant, translucent wave above a sand-toned entry plaza. In the lobby, terrazzo carpeting will display the subtle hues of waves washing onto the shore. Deeper inside and stretching throughout the public concourses, carpeting will change, like the ocean, from light sea tones to deep blues and greens. A massive glass wall will cover the front of the building, reaching three stories from ground to roof.

"This commanding structure will bring the ocean, landscape and skies indoors," said Jorge Pesquera, executive director of the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau, marketing and sales agent for the new Convention Center. "Riding up the escalators from the lobby, conventioneers will enjoy spectacular views of palm trees, ocean and San Juan's world-class hotels."

Puerto Rico's culture and setting will pervade the 36,200 square-feet of meeting space located primarily on the first and second floors. With rich woods and artistic glass, meeting room doors will recall the beautiful doors of Old San Juan. Artwork and floors will mirror Puerto Rico's El Yunque rainforest. The second-floor Concourse Room, a specialty meeting space, will be an interior focal point, affording views of the outdoors and public concourses below. Inspired by the rainforest, the room will be elegantly designed, with natural materials of wood and stone.

Drama and light are the themes on the third floor, where in the Ballroom, the world's largest chandelier will sparkle like holiday lights on the streets of Old San Juan. Events will take place under the dramatic arched roof. As light reflects off the chandelier, colors will roll like waves, from white to turquoise to azure to black. Light will reflect around the 39,500 square-foot Ballroom, as well, glistening off paneled walls and on the carpet designed to mimic moonlight on the Caribbean Sea. Outside, the Ballroom terrace and large pre-function space will provide spectacular views, stretching 30 miles out to sea.

TECHNOLOGY MEETS THE TROPICS

The Puerto Rico Convention Center will provide the most advanced technology of any convention center in Latin America and the Caribbean. It includes the capacity for video conferencing, broadband, wireless communication and more.

* The 152,000 square-foot exhibition hall will feature:

* Programmable controls to allow two lighting levels during set up and show activities

* Satellite up and down links

* Connections for line signaling

* Manager's offices with panoramic views of the tradeshow floor and closed caption audio to control the show

* The 39,500 square foot Ballroom--the largest in the Caribbean--will showcase:

* Flexible circuiting and programmable dimming controls

* Multi-mode fiber-optic connections

* Production control balcony with sound and lighting control connections

* Built-in support for portable laser projection and simultaneous translation

* Distributed television link for signal distribution and up-link satellite access

* Technology in the 36,200 square feet of meeting room space will include:

* Programmable lighting with eight-button pre-set control

* Capacity for remote audio recording of programs

* Coaxial cable (DTV) to link video signals to the ballroom and other meeting rooms

RESERVATIONS AT THE PUERTO RICO CONVENTION CENTER

Reservations are now being accepted for events scheduled for late 2005.

The Puerto Rico Convention Bureau is the official marketing and sales agent for the Puerto Rico Convention Center, providing dedicated and professional assistance to clients of the property. Based in San Juan, the Bureau also has offices in Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Miami, and Madrid, Spain.

For further information about the Puerto Rico Convention Center, contact the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau at 1-800-875-4765 (a free call within the United States); 787-725-2110 within Puerto Rico; 011-34-91-431-2128 in Madrid, Spain; or visit the website www.prconvention.com.

TOP 10 REASONS TO HOST EVENTS AT THE PUERTO RICO CONVENTION CENTER

1) State-of-the-art meeting space and technology--The Puerto Rico Convention Center will be Latin America's most modern, most high-tech convention venue and the largest in the Caribbean.

2) Visitor friendly--The Puerto Rico Tourism Company, the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau and the Puerto Rico Convention Center District Authority work with the Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association to offer visitors an enjoyable experience.

3) Excellent international air connections--San Juan is served by more than 600 weekly non-stop flights from the United States and other international destinations.

4) Efficient ground transportation--Visitors travel comfortably throughout the island: Taxis/also known as taxi turisticos, tour operators, and full-service destination management companies with fully-equipped vehicles.

5) Top-notch accommodations--Puerto Rico hotels and resorts offer a variety of international convention rooms, villas, and many types of suites.

6) Booking expertise--The Puerto Rico Convention Bureau offers a "one-stop shopping" approach to help coordinate, promote and manage a meeting on the island.

7) Pre and post-meeting activities--Meeting delegates can tailor island tours to take in historical sites, natural wonders, breathless adventure or tranquil repose.

8) Versatility--Puerto Rico has it all, from natural, tropical ambiance and historic flavor to an alluring cosmopolitan flair in the future Convention Center District.

9) Dining and nightlife--Award-winning restaurants offer traditional fare and international cuisine; sophisticated nightclubs and casinos offer after-dinner entertainment.

10) Year-round tropical climate--Puerto Rico's climate is among the most pleasant in the world, with an average temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius) all year round.

FUN FACTS

* The Puerto Rico Convention Center will be huge. At 580,000 sq. ft., it will be grand enough to house:

* 10 U.S. football fields

* 123 basketball courts

* 11 Boeing 747 commercial airplanes

* The new Convention Center will be so big that if you hit a baseball from one end of it to the other, it would be a homerun at a Major League Baseball park.

* As the most technologically-advanced meetings destination in the Caribbean and Latin America, the new Puerto Rice Convention Center will have approximately 440 miles of wires and cables. That's longer than the miles of exquisite beaches that rim this island paradise.

* Exhibition Hall's largest access door will be 28 ft. wide and 30 ft. high, providing ample space to accommodate:

* Three majestic palm trees standing side by side without bending a single branch

* 120,000 coquis. One of Puerto Rico's most popular creatures, this unique, little frog is found throughout the island, enlivening the evenings with its melodic song--"Ko-kee, ko-kee!"--from which it gets its name. (For more on the coqui, visit www.meetpuertorico.com,)

* The new Convention Center's 36,200 sq. ft. of meeting space will be divisible into 25 breakout rooms--more rooms than there are galleries in the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.

* The majestic Ballroom will be the largest in the Caribbean. With seating capacity for 4,388 people, it will have enough seats for all passengers aboard a world-class, luxury cruise ship.

* At 113 acres, the Puerto Rico Convention Center District will cover more ground than Six Flags Great America, Chicago.

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