News Release

Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center Opens Early and On Budget

Anchorage, Alaska – Sept. 12, 2008 – Anchorage’s new $111 million, 215,000-square-foot Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center is opening early and on budget. Booking indicators mark the world-class, “farthest north” convention center popular and busy from the start.

The Dena’ina Center increases Anchorage’s civic and convention capacity by 300 percent, and offers visitors an opportunity to learn about the Dena’ina people who have lived in the Cook Inlet Region since just after the last Ice Age. The meeting rooms and other areas of the Dena’ina Center have Athabascan names, colors throughout the building reflect the colors of the area’s changing season and the artwork within the building tells the story of the Dena’ina people—today and in the past.

“Many convention centers across the country are little more than a big box with meeting rooms inside, but the Dena’ina Center is filled with light; incorporates large, open, pre-meeting spaces; and showcases the rich and important history of the Athabascan people,” said Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) President Julie Saupe. “Alaskans and visitors who use the Dena’ina Center are going to be impressed with this building – the architecture, unique use of light, functionality of the space, artwork – it’s all quite impressive.”

“This Dena’ina Center has done more to excite our community and more to stimulate a massive makeover of Anchorage than any other single event in 20 years. And the credit goes to the citizens of Anchorage, who gave it their blessing,” said Mayor Mark Begich. “The Dena’ina Center is more than just a cutting-edge, state-of-the-art new civic and convention center. It has served as the cornerstone in Anchorage’s redevelopment – a transformation we haven’t seen since the Project ‘80s a generation ago.”

Construction of the Dena’ina Center began in April 2006 after Anchorage voters approved increasing the city’s bed tax from 8 to 12 percent, with the additional 4 percent specifically allocated to pay for construction of expanded convention facilities. Combined with existing facilities at the Egan Center, Anchorage will be able to host multiple mid-sized meetings simultaneously, and will have capacity for groups of up to 5,000. A Northern Economics, Inc. study, conducted in 2005 prior to the vote, estimated that economic activity as a result of expanded convention facilities could increase by more than $133 million annually by 2013. Bed tax revenues also are anticipated to grow by more than $20 million during the next 10 years.

The first event in the Dena’ina Center will be a rally for Alaska Governor and U.S. Vice President candidate Sarah Palin on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008. A soft public opening is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 18,2008 with tours at 11 a.m. followed by the ACVB monthly membership luncheon at noon. A free public opening celebration will take place Oct. 18 -19, 2008, the same weekend that the first trade show will be held in the Dena’ina’s Exhibition Hall. The first large statewide meeting in the Dena’ina Center will be the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) Convention Oct. 20 - 25, 2008, with more than 3,000 delegates expected. Statewide business accounts for 60 percent of Anchorage’s convention business. The new center has events booked for 20 of 31 days in October.

Features of the Dena’ina Center include heated sidewalks on three sides of the building that connect to heated sidewalks along F Street and connecting to the Performing Arts Center, Town Square and Egan Center. Users of the building enter into a grand lobby with 95-foot ceilings and a 65-foot shimmering, lighted cascade sculpture that depicts the indigenous birds, wildlife and sea creatures of the local region. Forty-two-inch LCD screens direct visitors to their meeting or event.

The main lobby, at street level, leads to the Dena’ina Center’s 50,000-square-foot exhibit hall, which is capable of housing 278 standard, 10-by-10-foot booths and can accommodate 3,300 people for a sit-down meal or up to 5,000 with theatre seating. A unique use of vertical windows allows for natural light to flood the trade show area. The exhibit hall also features four loading bays, heated grade entrances, concessions and a huge 16-foot-by-30-foot entrance that allows tractor trailers to pull inside the building to unload.

On the second level, the Dena’ina Center features six meeting rooms with a total of 11,000-square feet of space. Each meeting room is between 1,700 and 5,252 square feet depending on how they are configured. The K’enakatnu Executive Board Room features state-of-the-art audio visual equipment and teleconferencing capability, perfect for private, executive meetings.

A 25,000-square-foot ballroom on the third floor features Alaska birch entryways, 10 jumbo skylights in the ceiling that allow for maximum use of natural light and beaded curtain walls. Outside of the ballroom is a large pre-function area that exemplifies the building’s northern design, capturing as much light as possible. That light makes Artist James Grant’s 25-foot stained glass mural, “A Life in a Day of the Dena’ina,” on the south end of the ballroom’s pre-function area look different, depending on the season and time of day the artwork is viewed.

The third floor pre-function area leads to an outdoor terrace that can accommodate up to 900 people and features heated flooring to keep it snow and ice-free. The outdoor deck will not only give conventioneers a welcome breath of fresh air, it also features stunning views of the Chugach Range and downtown.

The Dena’ina Center’s state-of-the-art kitchen is capable of preparing up to 5,000 meals. Walk-in coolers and freezers, a bakery station, conveyor belt “dish up” stations and dozens of cook and hold ovens on wheels allow for easy transfer of food. The kitchen includes a dishwasher that is capable of washing more than 15,000 plates an hour and two coffee machines capable of brewing 9,576 cups of coffee per hour.

The new Dena’ina Center is part of an even larger expansion of facilities in the downtown Convention District. A new 872-space Linny Pacillo parking garage opened Sept. 9, 2008, adjacent to the Dena’ina Center. Construction of a heated walking corridor along F Street that connects the Dena’ina Center to the Performing Arts Center, Town Square and the existing Egan Center is nearing completion. Along F Street, curbs have been removed, lighting improved and colorful planters scattered among the pedestrian-friendly walkway. When large outdoor events are held in conjunction with activities at the Dena’ina Center, F Street can be closed to traffic to allow for a street fair atmosphere. Improvements are also nearly complete to make E Street more pedestrian-friendly, and the landscaping, pathways and pavers in Town Square are being refurbished, with completion expected this fall. The Egan Center also has undergone $3 million in remodeling to make its look and functionality match those at Dena’ina Center. Improvements have included a new roof, exterior paint, carpet, walls and furniture, as well as upgraded restroom facilities and the purchase of new audio, visual and other equipment for groups using the center.

The Dena’ina Center was designed by Rim Architects and LMN Architects of Seattle. The main design/build contractor was Neeser Construction, Inc.. A non-profit entity called CivicVentures was created by the Municipality of Anchorage to finance and construct the Dena’ina Center. Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau manages the building along with the Egan Ceneter, and has contracted with SMG Alaska to handle the day-to-day operations.

A free public Opening Celebration, which will showcase all of the Dena’ina Center’s features, is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Opening Celebration will include a street fair, family and children’s activities, entertainment, fashion shows and sample event themes and wedding ideas that can be implemented in the Dena’ina Center. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and Dena’ina blessing of the building is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday. The Oxygen & Octane EXPO, a winter recreation and travel show, will be held in conjunction with the grand opening in the Dena’ina Center Exhibition Hall. That event runs Oct. 17 - 19, 2008, and admission is free.

The Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau’s (ACVB) mission is to attract and serve visitors to the Municipality of Anchorage as a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO). ACVB’s marketing functions are funded by one-third of the bed tax collected by lodging associations. One-third goes to the Municipality’s general fund, a contribution established in 1978, and one-third goes to the construction and annual maintenance costs of the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center and the William A. Egan Civic & Convention Center. ACVB receives no state or federal funds. Explore www.Anchorage.net for more information.

Media Contacts:

Jeanette Anderson Moores
Public Relations
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau
jmoores@anchorage.net
(907) 276-4118
Explore www.Anchorage.net

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