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Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center has ribbon cutting ceremony

CHARLESTON W.Va. — The Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. It has a ring to it and the facility to match it.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the grand reopening of the building — formerly the Charleston Civic Center — took place Friday afternoon after a renovation project totaling over $100 million.

“I am very excited to have reached this point where the facilities now can been occupied and we can bring events in here,” Charleston City Manager David Molgaard said. “I am looking forward to more people from out of town and in our region, visiting Charleston and spending some time here.”

“It was great to see the turnout. It is an exciting time for our community.”

Charleston Mayor Danny Jones cut the ribbon with Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center General Manager John Robertson to his left and Molgaard to his right. Those three were flanked by many city workers and Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center board members.

The construction on the project began in 2015. Before this renovation, the last work done on the center was in 2000.

“We do have some things that need to be finished up,” Molgaard said. “We want to complete a walkway along the Elk River that will connect to the lower sidewalk along the Kanawha River.”

The facility, built in 1958, had most of the work done in this latest renovation on the convention center side of things. A new 25,000 square foot ballroom, a riverfront park, an exterior facelift, and additional meeting room spaces were added. The ballroom can seat up to 1,400 people.

“It’s gorgeous,” Caroline Mitchell, a Charleston resident said. “I think it’s a great expansion to the center. I think that if I were coming from out-of-state and came to a conference in a building like this, I would think it was amazing.”

“One of the biggest things is the atrium here with the huge windows and being able to see outside. It’s not dark, it’s not dingy. It’s very bright and feels modern to me.”

In addition to the new conference rooms is a state-of-the-art kitchen that is significantly larger than the old kitchen. There is also additional Wi-Fi services added on that can be used throughout the facility.

“This is unbelievable,” Gabrielle McClure, a Charleston resident said. “I heard this from others and I have been thinking of it myself, I can’t believe this is in Charleston. I think what they said at the ceremony is true. They are just opening us up to a whole new class or tourism and opportunities in the Charleston area.”

“It’s going to be great to get new people in because it’s such a nice facility. I think it’s really going to serve its purpose and bring us up to par in Charleston.”

Also on hand for the ceremony was Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr., whose father, the late former Charleston Mayor John T. Copenhaver, helped open the original facility 60 years ago.

Molgaard noted there is an open house tomorrow from 2 to 4 p.m. for anyone who missed the ribbon cutting ceremony.

 





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