Welcome to the June edition of Conventional Wisdom, the newsletter of the Paducah McCracken County Convention and Expo Center.

We hope this publication will give you an idea of the events and activities coming up at the Convention and Expo Centers, along with other interesting tidbits. Each month Conventional Wisdom will bring you inside our facilities for some great photos, and let you know how to get in touch with us to book your next meeting, banquet, reception or event.

We hope you enjoy it.

Meet The
Lincoln Room

Each month, Conventional Wisdom features a room in our facility and gives you some ideas of what can be held there and how many people we can accommodate. This month, we feature the Lincoln Room. The Lincoln Room is the premier small meeting space in the Convention Center. The wall-to-wall windows let in lots of natural light and give your guests great views of Downtown. Lincoln is perfect for medium-sized board meetings up to around 40 guests. The room also is great for a small luncheon or breakout sessions to go with a larger meeting across the hall in the River Ballroom. If you are interested in booking the Lincoln Room or any of our smaller meeting rooms, contact J. Patrick Kerr at 270.408.1346 or visit our website at www.PaducahConventions.com.

What’s the real story?
What’s coming down? What’s not?

It seems that just about everyone knows the Executive Inn Hotel, which is adjacent to the Convention Center, is slated for demolition. However, there seems to be a fair amount of confusion as to exactly how the Hotel will be razed, when the demolition will begin and exactly what part will be torn down.

Because the Hotel is physically attached to the Convention Center, we thought we would take a few paragraphs to clear up some misconceptions and, more importantly, assure our clients and potential clients, that the Convention Center is here to stay, newly renovated and ready to host your next event!

So, let’s address those misconceptions one at a time:

How Will The Hotel Be Demolished?

Here at Conventional Wisdom, we have heard everything from blown up to pushed into the river. When all is said and done, the actual demolition of the Hotel will be pretty anti-climatic. Demolition will be done over the course of several months with clawed cranes and bulldozers. The work will begin at the Convention Center and construction crews will work their way toward the south parking lot near the Farmer’s Market downtown. The Hotel will not be imploded and it will take some time to complete the tear down.

When Will This All Start?

Razing of the Hotel will begin around the end of this summer. The first few days will be spent “surgically” removing the Hotel from the south wall of the Convention Center and then work will continue toward downtown. After the Hotel is separated from the Convention Center, repair work on the wall that connected the two buildings will begin. Disruption to the Convention Center will be minimal. Further, demolition work on the Convention Center end of the Hotel will not be done on days when meetings or events are being held in the facility. On those days, construction crews will do their best to keep the work on the far end of the site.

What’s Going To Happen To The “International Rooms?”

The simple answer is, Absolutely Nothing! If you take a look at the photo accompanying this article, you will see where Hotel demolition will begin. The old Silver Saddle also will be razed. The Convention Center, the Ballroom, the small meeting rooms across the hall, the Atrium Lobby, and the downstairs meeting rooms will not be torn down. As a matter of fact, if you haven’t been in the Convention Center in the last year or so, you probably haven’t seen the multi-million dollar renovation that includes the entire Convention Center space.

What Does All This Mean For The Convention Center

In the long run, the Convention Center will be in great shape and will be an important part of a new complex that will include a first-class downtown hotel. In the short-term, the construction and demolition of the old Hotel will have very little impact on the Convention Center and will in no way hinder events already planned or future events that have been waiting to book because of the uncertainty surrounding the Hotel.

We are all very excited at the Convention Center to move forward into this new stage of life. And, we want you to be a part of it. Visit our website at www.PaducahConventions.com and send us an email or call J. Patrick Kerr at 270.408.1346 to discuss holding your next meeting, seminar, trade show or banquet at the Convention or Expo Center.

The Convention Center wants to host your next board meeting! If you are a non-profit organization, we will host your next board meeting for free (as long as we have the space and date available.) We really want to “show off” the place! Whether your organization is an Arts Group, Charitable Group or Business Association, we would be thrilled to have you. We can handle nearly any sized meeting from a small committee of four or five to a full board of 30, 40 or more. We will provide everything you need -- coffee, iced tea, tables and chairs. All you have to do is call us to book it!

If you would like to hold your next non-profit meeting at the Convention Center just visit our website at www.PaducahConventions.com and drop us an email, or call J. Patrick Kerr at 270.408.1346. We look forward to seeing you.

This offer is limited to non-profit organizations only. Offer is based on availability and can only be used once. Groups taking advantage of this offer and then choosing to book another meeting or event, will receive an additional 10% discount over and above our non-profit discount of 15%. Contact the Convention Center for complete details.