ATLANTA (June 14, 2002) - The Georgia World Congress Center rolled out the red carpet when the doors opened to the Phase IV expansion for the first time. Four new exhibit halls totaling 420,000 square feet of prime exhibit space were completed for SUPERCOMM 2002 , a premier information technology and communications conference held June 4-6.

The Phase IV expansion opened its exhibit halls ahead of schedule to accommodate for the growing size of SUPERCOMM , which utilized all 12 halls at the Congress Center. The remainder of the expansion, including a 25,700 square foot ballroom, 29 meeting rooms and a 3.6-acre landscaped plaza, is on schedule to be completed this fall.

"We are thrilled about our most recent expansion. It not only gives us the capacity to hold large trade shows such as SUPERCOMM , it also allows us to manage multiple trade shows and events at once without the two parties coming in contact with each other," said Georgia World Congress Center General Manager John Smith.

Since SUPERCOMM has moved out, the exhibit halls have been converted back into a construction site for further work on completing the project. The halls will open again for the International Woodworking Fair (IWF) Aug. 22-25. IWF sets the record as the Congress Center's largest show to date. After IWF moves out, construction will be finalized for the fall opening. Interbev becomes the first show to use the entire Building C in October, utilizing the new ballroom and meeting rooms. A formal grand opening ceremony will be held in November.

The Phase IV expansion is estimated to generate $1 billion in economic impact and $53 million in new tax revenue. It is expected to attract 400,000 additional out-of-state visitors to the Atlanta area. Upon completion, the Georgia World Congress Center offers a total of 3.9 million square feet of space comprised of 1.4 million square feet of prime exhibit space, 105 meeting rooms, three major entrance concourses, two grand ballrooms (33,000 and 25,700 square feet) and two landscaped plazas.

This addition maintains the Georgia World Congress Center's rank as one of the top five largest convention center's in the nation. Together with the Georgia Dome and Centennial Olympic Park, the Congress Center remains committed to providing our customers with both fast and friendly service and an exceptional facility.