Expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center opens in Philadelphia

Just before the chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority grabbed giant scissors to cut an equally large red ribbon Friday, she beamed at the several hundred people gathered, most of whom worked in the hospitality industry.

"Welcome to your house of commerce!" proclaimed Ahmeenah Young.

And with those words, all that personifies Philadelphia seemed to descend the large staircase and two very long escalators at the newly enlarged Convention Center.

There was Rocky, decked out in his gray sweat suit and black cap, as if he were running down the Art Museum steps. And Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross arriving in colonial-era attire. Dragons from Chinatown, showgirls in feathered costumes, a band performing samba, and several dozen restaurant and hotel workers joined the politicians and other officials in the lobby overlooking the center's new glass-enclosed Broad Street entrance.

They came to celebrate the debut of the Convention Center's $786 million expansion - a project that took more than two years to complete and, before that, even longer to win legislative approval in Harrisburg. The largest public-works project in the history of the commonwealth finally opened its doors to the public just before noon, after the ribbon was cut and red streamers rained down.

"I think it looks wonderful," said Bobbie McKenzie, 59, of Lansdale, who works in sales, as she peered down one of the new corridors lined with meeting rooms. "It's big, open, and airy."

"Philly has hit the big time," said her husband, Rege McKenzie, 58, a semiretired pharmaceutical director. "Look at the size of this place."

The expansion makes Philadelphia home to the country's 14th-largest convention center, the largest ballroom on the East Coast (the 55,400-square-foot Terrace Ballroom), and more than a half-million square feet of connected exhibit space.

With one million total square feet of sellable space, the bigger center now allows two major conventions, or a convention and a trade show, or a convention and a major gate show such as the Philadelphia International Flower Show opening Sunday, to take place simultaneously for the first time.

"It's massive," Russ Alexander, 58, who works for an affordable-housing nonprofit, said as he toured the new spaces Friday. "It seems to stretch forever."

Now, the task is to fill the jumbo center, and Mayor Nutter had a message Friday for the convention world.