Terre Haute Convention Center living up to hype, says general manager
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIt’s been more than a year since the more than $30 million Terre Haute Convention Center opened in the city’s downtown. Since that time, the 43,000-square-foot venue has hosted nearly 200 events and about 20,000 people, according to General Manager Tennille Wanner.
“It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of hours worked by our team, but it’s been really exciting and thrilling to see the community come together in support of the convention center,” Wanner said. “Looking at all the local business that we’ve hosted, I think it’s really amazing to see what we’ve done as a team in creating an opportunity for more growth in the future.”
In an interview on Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick, Wanner said she believes the project has lived up to the hype.
“We’ve had events, before the convention center was even completely done, that were booked as a result of the community knowing that this facility was coming,” she said. “Like our firemen, our local union booked an event; they were the first event that booked here. As soon as they knew that steel was going into the ground, they wanted this in their backyard, this conference. And so I think it’s really been something that the community can be proud of.”
But Wanner said there is still room for growth. In particular, she said Terre Haute needs more hotel rooms to accommodate more events.
“The hotels are a big piece of our long term book, which is our convention business. And so our hotels do really well here but I think long term when we get more hotel room nights, I think that will succeed a little more.”
Officials say Terre Haute’s two convention hotels are currently running at about 80% occupancy, and keys to future growth will be a new hotel and parking garage. Both are expected to happen next year.
Wanner said the venue is being used for more than just big conventions. Meetings and multi-day educational events are being hosted at the convention center, as well as a surprising use — weddings.
“We didn’t anticipate being a venue for a lot of weddings. We have a lot of wedding venues in the market, and we certainly didn’t want to pull that business. But having such a beautiful ballroom has really attracted a lot of the weddings here.”
The impact of the convention center goes beyond dollars and cents, Wanner said. The project has created much needed exposure for the city.
“When we get a lot of folks here that haven’t been here, especially with some of the conferences we’ve done, they see the growth that Terre Haute has, and they see the opportunity that’s coming. It’s not just the convention center, but it’s also the casino that’s coming. There’s more industrial groups that are coming, and so we’re really going to be able to transform into a meetings industry here in Terre Haute.”