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When the Puerto Rico Convention Center opened in November 2005 in San Juan, Puerto Rico,  Ana María Viscasillas, President & CEO,Puerto Rico Convention Bureau, declared: “The Puerto Rico Convention Center represents a new era in our tourism history. Meeting in Puerto Rico will never be the same.”

Now celebrating its fifth anniversary year, this SMG-managed venue has attracted hundreds of thousand of meeting attendees and spurred development in its surrounding district that now includes the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino, a state-of-the-art convention headquarter hotel which opened in December. The Puerto Rico Convention Center has  made this U.S. Commonwealth both a viable meetings destination in and of itself as well as positive harbinger of the global meeting market potential of the Caribbean Latin America.

 “The Puerto Rico Convention Center has placed our destination firmly on the world stage for meetings and conventions,” said Viscasillas. “With an economic impact of more than $78 million in group expenditures and nearly 200,000 room night bookings, the Center has proven to be one of Puerto Rico’s best investments for our tourism future.”

 As the Puerto Rico Convention Center celebrates its fifth year of operation, Puerto Rico’s meeting and convention offerings continue to come-of-age, standing out among the forefront of world-class meeting destinations. The 580,000-square-foot facility venue can host up to 10,000 meeting attendees at a time, is the largest facility of its kind in the Caribbean and the most technologically-advanced in the Caribbean and Latin America. It features a 152,700-square-foot exhibition hall divisible into three individual exposition spaces, as well as a 39,500-square-foot Grand Ballroom. Overall, the Puerto Rico Convention Center features 36,400 square feet of meeting space, including 15 separate meeting rooms on two levels, which can be divided into 28 breakout rooms.

 Since its opening, the Puerto Rico Convention Center has welcomed more than one million visitors and hosted more than 1,500 events. Regarding Conventions, Trade Shows and Meetings with an international attendance, the venue has received more an estimated 110,000 delegates—which are meeting attendees who have stayed at least one night in a San Juan hotel room while attending a convention center hosted event. In addition, approximately 20 Citywide conventions—which typically attract 2,000-7,000 attendees—have utilized the venue, including large-scale meetings of the National Guard Association of the United States, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, American Association of Retired Persons and the Caribbean Hotel Association’s Marketplace.  In 2011, the Center will host the International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry for its 43rd World Chemistry Congress and General Assembly and the International Federation of Library Associations World Library & Information Congress.

The success of the facility has been augmented by the development of its neighborhood making the Puerto Rico Convention area a destination in and of itself. This development included the District’s urban park, “Paseo de las Fuentes,” (promenade of fountains). More recently, the newly opened Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino, which serves as the headquarter hotel to the Puerto Rico Convention Center and located directly across the street, has brought the destination to a new level of meetings appeal. This 503-room, 22-suite Starwood property features more than 35,000 square feet of state-of-the-art flexible meeting space, including the 16,300-square foot San Juan Grand Ballroom, divisible into 8 rooms; a 7,700-square foot Ballroom highlighted by natural lighting and water views plus seven other meeting rooms. In addition, the property offers a 57,000 square foot, four-story high outdoor sundeck complete with sweeping panoramic views, a large rooftop infinity swimming pool with poolside cabañas and additional outdoor function space. Other elements include a 9,100 square foot spa; a state-of-the-art Fitness Center; 70,000 square feet of retail space; and a 20,000 square foot casino with more than 500 slot machines and 16 tables