San Jose Hosts Large Scale Events in New Structure

February 21, 2006 – The San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau (SJCVB) inaugurated South Hall, the newest addition to the McEnery Convention Center, with three major events. South Hall is an 80,000 square foot column-free tensile structure adjacent to the main Convention Center. The South Hall expansion grows the McEnery Convention Center exhibit space to a total of 223,000 square feet. South Hall is able to provide a full compliment of networking services including cyber cafes, webcasting, VoIP and WiFi.

The architect for the project was Patri Merker Architects in San Francisco and the provider of the tensile fabric building was Universal Fabric Structures. It took nine months to erect the South Hall expansion.

The first event of the year for the Convention Center and for South Hall was the San Jose International Auto Show. The Auto Show filled the South Hall and the main Convention Center with hundreds of the latest cars, trucks, vans, sport utility vehicles, and concept cars.

The second show to occupy the new South Hall structure was Photonics. Photonics is North America's largest commercial exhibition of optics, lasers, biomedical optics, optoelectronic components, and imaging technologies; showcasing over 850 local and international companies.

The RSA Conference was the third major convention to utilize South Hall in 2006. The RSA convention is the world’s leading information security event. The conference enjoyed record attendance at this year’s show.

The new South Hall structure allowed each of these conventions to expand their exhibition space, which in turn had a positive impact on show attendance. The economic impact to San Jose for these three shows was significant—$34.5M. Digital photographs are available for all events. “2006 is off to a great start,” commented Bob Marx, Marketing Director of SJCVB, “the increased square footage is allowing us to bring in new business opportunities.”

beacon we can all celebrate,” noted Mark Hyde Director of Human Resources for Hyatt San Jose.


About The San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau (SJCVB)

The San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau (SJCVB) mission is to enhance the image and economic well being of San Jose by marketing San Jose as a globally recognized destination. The SJCVB offers meeting planners, tour operators, and individual visitors a wide range of services to ensure a successful event and fun visit to San Jose. To receive a copy of the Bureau’s Meeting Planning Guide or Official Visitors Guide, please contact the SJCVB at 1.800.SAN.JOSE (1.800.726.5673)