Photo courtesy of Moscone Center

One month after cutting the ribbon to open the doors to the expanded Moscone Center, the meeting and event community in San Francisco is in an even higher state of euphoria about the future of conference business in the city.

The completion of the US$551 million expansion of the Moscone Center on Jan. 3 marked a milestone for the San Francisco Travel Association, the official destination marketing organization for the city and county of San Francisco.

The four-year project increased space at the city’s convention center by 21 percent to nearly 505,000 square feet of connected exhibit space in the Moscone North and South buildings in an expansion that is sure to make San Francisco more competitive for group business.

One month after the gala celebration, Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of San Francisco Travel, said business is on a record pace, with the Moscone Center nearly fully booked through April.

“We have more group nights in the books than we have ever had,” D’Alessandro said this week during a media tour of the Moscone Center and other new event venues in the city. “We were never trying to be the largest. We were just going for more flexibility within the space and to be able to free up Moscone West (the third complex in the Moscone Center campus).

“We needed space because we’re growing. We heard that from our hotel community. It was clear we loved the location and that we had to maximize that we’re in the heart of the city.”

The reaction from the meeting and event community has been positive. The city is positioned to set a new record for room nights booked with more than 1.2 million reserved—the first time the city has surpassed 1 million room nights since 2014. It certainly is a plus that more than 19,500 hotel rooms are within eight blocks of the Moscone Center.

The Moscone Center is now among the 15 largest conference centers in the U.S. In addition to adding 157,000 square feet of usable space including a new, 50,000-square-foot, column-free ballroom, the project included a pedestrian bridge to connect the North and South buildings, an underground exhibit hall, a water recycling system and energy-efficient lights. In response to community concerns, the expansion included outdoor terraces, a playground for children and the addition of public art. The pedestrian bridge will include a light art display by Leo Villareal, who designed the Bay Bridge light art.

The three Moscone buildings combined now offer 114 flexible meetings rooms and a total of more than 1.1 million square feet of usable space including lobbies, terraces and exhibition and meeting space.

Bob Hope, director of conventions and meetings for the American College of Surgeons, said he’s impressed with the changes, which will help his group with their meeting, expected to draw 12,000.

“The new areas with natural light, the tech updates, the space, it all added up to a great situation for us,” he said. “This has been our highest-attended city. For the medical meeting planner, exhibit space was not so much the issue as was more meeting space, and now we’ve got it. We’re very excited to be coming here.”

While Salesforce’s Dreamforce and Oracle Openworld have maintained their annual treks to Moscone, other groups such as Apple, Facebook and Google have looked elsewhere due to space concerns, but officials are hopeful the expansion will lure those companies and others back.

That’s exactly what D’Alessando wants to hear. The project was not only completed on time and on budget, but the Moscone Center did not close during the construction.

“Six years ago, this was not on the city project list, but we knew we had to do it,” he said. “It was a real challenge to keep the building open during construction. It was a remarkable effort. There were some tense moments, but we’re very proud of the collaboration that led to us finishing on time.”

The economic impact of the expansion is projected to generate more than $272 million per year. About two-thirds of the expansion was funded by a fee on hotel rooms and the rest paid by city bonds.

“It is important that San Francisco stay competitive with expanded and upgraded convention facilities,” D’Alessandro said. “This project has achieved that.”

To learn more about the Moscone Center and San Francisco Travel Association, go to www.sanfrancisco.travel.