Demolition crews and large excavation equipment arrived at the Phoenix Convention Center today and are set to begin Phase Two of the center’s expansion. Mayor Phil Gordon, former Mayor Milton Graham (city of Phoenix mayor when the North Building opened) and Phoenix Convention Center Director Jay Green visited the site to recognize this important expansion milestone. Demolition of the North Building begins May 30.

The North Building served as Arizona’s premier meeting and convention location since 1972. The 10-acre site will be excavated 50 feet below street level to accommodate the continuation of the new West Building underground exhibition hall, plus a four-story building that will bring the Phoenix Convention Center to a total of nearly 900,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space when complete in late 2008.

“The North Building welcomed guests for over 30 years, hosted more than 21 million event attendees, four United States presidents and countless dignitaries,” said former Mayor Milton Graham. “This building, the events that took place and the people, created a legacy that I am excited to have been a part of and I am proud to watch as the city builds a new legacy.”

“This is a joint project that will directly benefit the city of Phoenix by bringing people to our hotels, restaurants and shops – while it also benefits all Arizona residents,” said Mayor Phil Gordon. “During this five-year construction period, we will see an even broader impact. We have already seen 93 percent of the work performed by Arizona residents, employed 3,100 people, $18.6 million paid in wages and $7.6 million paid in state construction tax revenue.”

The voter-approved $600 million expansion, scheduled for completion in late 2008, will position the Phoenix Convention Center in the top 20 convention centers in North America with a steady schedule of convention center bookings targeted to host 375,000 convention delegates annually beginning in 2013.

“The convention center staff recently moved into the West Building and we will host the first convention in mid-July,” said Jay Green, director of the Phoenix Convention Center. “The beginning of Phase Two marks an important milestone as we look to the future of a new convention center designed to be a client-friendly, state-of-the-art facility that will have the capacity to accommodate 80 percent of all conventions held nationally. This expansion increases our ability to compete with other major destinations in the meetings and conventions market.”

The Phoenix Convention Center expansion is a cooperative effort between the city of Phoenix and the state of Arizona. Phoenix voters approved $300 million in funding for the expansion in 2001; the Arizona Legislature and Governor Janet Napolitano approved matching funds in 2003.