The city of Terre Haute will soon hold a grand opening celebration, two years after builders began construction on the $25 million Terre Haute Convention Center. The 43,000-square-foot facility’s construction was nearly finished in March.
Officials from the city and the Vigo County Capital Improvement Board are hopeful that the new facility would act as a magnet for new companies and visitors to the region. On Saturday, 30 area firms will showcase their products and services during a business expo. The ballroom can seat 500-600 people for supper, but much more for a theatre-style setup. Weddings shows and conventions are among the events that have already been scheduled for the center.
While the convention center is completed, one high-profile component is still under construction: the Larry Bird Museum.
Terre Haute convention center and other similar projects to breath new life into Indiana downtowns
“We believed that if we could do something like Bloomington or any of these other Indiana communities that have brought back their downtowns with little shops, people would come back downtown. Since we began working on this project downtown, a few tiny businesses have sprung up. We’re just hoping that once this thing gets off the ground, it will really start flowering,” said Vigo County Capital Improvement Board President Jon Marvel.
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“These organizations have reserved them for several years in advance. We knew there would be no conferences on the first day the facility was open. However, we do have a lot of stuff already on the books,” he continued.
