Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Buffalo Niagara Convention Center is nearing the end of its renovations as the center has been undergoing not only cosmetic and practical exterior changes, but some interior changes all-year since the approval of their reported $6.1 million dollar budget allocated by Erie County.
When will visitors get to see the new look of the convention center?
"[It] was supposed to be done November 30," says Jeff Calkins, General Manager at the convention center. "But now we're slowly getting into December and the end is near. We're looking probably in the second week in January, [when the renovations] will be completely, completely done. So we're looking forward to just starting to see the really the package come together."
Patrick Kaler, Visit Buffalo Niagara's President and CEO says there have been some minor inconveniences, "Like every other construction project, across the country and in Erie County, there have been some supply chain issues, workforce issues, but we're pretty much right on time."
The main project is the exterior facade coupled with bigger entryways with heated sidewalks, but the lobby of the convention center has also had some work done, "Back in 2021, we completed the lobby renovations. So that brought everything up to a more kind of clean, contemporary look. A very bright, very open concept and this year the county started working on the facade, working on the overall look and feel of the appearance as you approach the convention center," said Kaler.
"I think when the project is done, they're going see a completely different look to the building. It was a very bland concrete look, a very industrial look in the beginning. What you'll see when the project is done is a brightly illuminated, fresh look multi-color metal cladding on the façade of the building, new sliding doors that will be easily entered into the facility into the new lobby. And the nice part about us and especially in the wintertime, will have heated sidewalks leading up to those new new doors. So it'll be really a professional and really exquisite entry into the facility," said Calkins.
The lobby isn't the only interior update the convention center will receive cosmetically according to Kaler, "Once we had the lobby done, it made the rest of the first floor look a little outdated and the county executive noticed that. So that's where we're getting a fresh coat of paint, brighten it up. It's a different color than what was on the walls before. Again, making it look a little bit more contemporary and fresh, makes it feel a little bit bigger and open as well."
Events have been continuing as construction goes on, Kaler says they've had to redirect traffic as they are predominantly working to install the new main entrance, but many of their current clients are excited about the new renovations to come.
Calkins believes that these renovations have great potential to get new conventions and new clients to bring some out of town visitors into Buffalo, "It just gives a better outlook, even our own staff, it gives them a sense of pride that, you know, this is our building and it's something to show off. I think we'll be in a better position to convince people from out of town that Buffalo is a great place to come and have your convention or a trade show, it really steps up to the plate and matches with other cities we're competing against."
"Prior to the pandemic for the five years leading up to the pandemic through 2019, the building was occupied 217 days out of the year on average with an average of about 149 different events, with an economic impact of $47 million on all of those types of events, meetings, conventions, banquets, that would be coming into the convention center," Kaler adds.
Kaler doesn't expect to get back to those 2019 levels until 2025. In 2022, the convention hosted about 90 events in the center and next year they have 93 events so far, which is on pace to what the national averages are for convention center according to Kaler.