Atlanta's Center Hit By Tornado

When a tornado struck the Georgia World Congress Center at about 9:45 p.m. on Friday March 14, Katy Pando, associate director of marketing for the center, was in her office checking the weather forecast for the area.

With fans of the Southeastern Conference Basketball Tournament packed into the Georgia Dome, another building on the 200-acre campus, Pando said she wanted to keep on top of the situation – and that's when the twister hit.

“I was just leaving my office and walking back toward the game,” she said. “It was like walking into a wind tunnel. There was clearly a severe weather situation occurring.“

Pando sought shelter inside the building until the high winds passed, then rushed to the Georgia Dome to update security on what was happening. Luckily, she said, there were no serious injuries to anyone on the campus, though all three buildings – the GWCC, the dome and Centennial Olympic Park – sustained various levels of damage.

“It's a bricks-and-mortar situation, and it could have been a life-and-limbs one,“ Pando said. “So, we're very fortunate.“

Of the three structures, the GWCC took the brunt of the storm. According to Pando, the GWCC had extensive glass and water damage, and all of the buildings had roof damage. At press time, an assessment of the center's condition was pending. Some events were canceled or postponed until the building was cleared to reopen.

“The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau has been working with the Georgia World Congress Center since Friday night,“ said Mark Vaughn, executive vice president of sales and marketing at the Atlanta CVB. “We have communicated frequently and openly with our meeting customers in order to make sure their needs are met. Atlanta's hotels and meeting facilities have been working closely with one another to make sure that our customers are satisfied. As of now, no major meetings have been canceled.“

When the tornado struck, the only function in the GWCC with attendees was a dance in one of its ballrooms, Pando said. Two other events in the building, the Atlanta Home Show – Spring and The Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting, both had to be shut down in the middle of their runs.

The home show, a consumer event owned by Semco Productions, lost two days, according to Pando. It took up two halls and regularly attracts 23,000 attendees to the center.

The dental meeting, with approximately 24,000 attendees and 400 exhibitors on a 90,000 net square foot showfloor, lost one day. Show managers and exhibitors had to wait a few days to enter the building and remove their exhibits, Pando added.

At press time, the fate of some upcoming shows was unknown.

“We're hoping to hear something back from the Congress Center by the end of the day today,” said Jennifer Tomb, director of conventions and meetings for the Natl. Propane Gas Assn., on March 17. The annual NPGA Southeastern Convention & Intl. Exposition was scheduled March 29-30.

“Right now, we're giving them some time,” she added.

Tomb said she hoped the GWCC could find some space in the building for the show, but the association was looking for alternatives just in case.

“We've put out leads,” she added. “The CVB's been helping us a lot.”

Typically, the show uses about 60,000 net sq. ft. of exhibit space at the venue, taking up two halls, Tomb said.

“To my knowledge, (a cancellation of the NPGA show) never had to happen because of an act of God,” she added.

Also still up in the air at press time were the fates of the Intl. Window Coverings Expo, March 27-29, and Clinical Laboratory Management Assn. Think Lab '08 Conference & Exhibition, March 30-April 1.

“We're on hold,” said Suzanne Worthley, vice president of operations for Grace McNamara, which produces the window covering event. “We're hoping for the best that our actual part of the hall is structurally sound.”

Estimates for the window coverings show were 230 exhibiting companies with about 8,000 professional attendees filling roughly 70,000 net sq. ft. in Hall C.

Officials from both shows said they were waiting to hear news from the GWCC before deciding their next move.

“Obviously, everyone wants a plan B, but I don't have a plan B (until hearing from them),” Worthley said.

Luckily, she added, the Omni at CNN Center, which closed one of its towers, had been able to accommodate the show's room block by shifting it to the other tower.

Mark John, COO of the CLMA, said the association didn't have a plan as of press time.

“We're in (Hall) B3, the one that probably sustained the most damage,” he added. “If B3 is not repairable … we're waiting to see if they have availability in two other halls, B4 and B5.”

The CLMA - which is expecting 220 exhibiting companies, 1,500 professional attendees and a 60,000 net sq. ft. showfloor at this year's show - had to cancel an event in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans.

“We're continuing to plan for a big show (in Atlanta),” John added. “I think they'll be able to leverage the resources they need to get the job done. If they need to cancel, that's understandable given their situation.”

Pando said she thought the center would reopen quickly. “The response has been incredible ... and if it continues at this pace, it will be good news for us and our customers,” she added.