Courtesy Waco and the Heart of Texas
“Stripped to a shell”
Although the exterior walls of the center stayed the same, its inner workings were gutted.
“There were so many behind-the-scenes improvements,” said Pendergraft. “It was stripped to a shell so we could redo the electrical and redo the wiring for the wireless.” Wireless access is now throughout the building.
Features such as drop-down audiovisual screens and monitors were also installed.
Taylor describes the center’s design as a “split level.” The upper level, linked directly to the adjacent Waco Hilton, is larger and contains all of the center’s major spaces: a 32,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a 15,000-square-foot exhibit hall, the ballroom, a 191-seat theater, and several boardrooms and prefunction areas.
Breakout rooms are clustered on the lower level. In one area, six breakouts, each in the 1,500-square-foot range, share a corridor. An adjacent area encompasses up to nine other breakouts, including the Ranger Rooms, which can be used as one 3,200-square-foot space or as many as five smaller rooms.
The center’s additional meeting spaces are making it possible for the Missionary Baptist Convention of Texas to bring a larger convention to Waco, according to the group’s meeting planner, Frances Worthey.
The church group brought its women and girls’ conference to Waco a few years ago. This summer, it will return with that conference and one for men and boys as well.
“Our convention is like three conventions in one,” said Worthey. “We will have the men and boys in a separate hall. The women will have the second floor, and on the first floor, we will have our girls’ academy and our young women’s institute. Each can have its miniconference without overlapping.”
The center’s expanded prefunction space will work well for the conference’s vendors and for receptions, she added.
“The convention center worked well when we were here before, but now it is so much better,” she said.
Baylor builds Riverside stadium
The convention center is only one of Waco’s improvements. Baylor University, long an economic driver, is steering the city in new directions with the construction of its $250 million football stadium in East Waco.
The stadium is sure to be the envy of the Baylor Bears’ rivals. It sits next to the Brazos River, and the end of the stadium facing the river is open to give fans a water view. A curving pedestrian bridge will link the stadium to the university side of the river.
In addition to inspiring players, the stadium is expected to kick off development in what has been Waco’s quieter side. The stadium is expected to open next year.
Even if their conventions have nothing to do with Baylor, meeting goers benefit from the presence of the well-known Baptist university. The campus’ main gate is five to six blocks from the convention center, so the energy created by students and faculty is palpable at the center, from apartments nearby to youthful joggers along the nearby river walk. Like conventions, the university also needs hotels and restaurants. Among Waco’s most recent additions is the 111-room Hotel Indigo near Baylor’s entrance. The city’s first boutique hotel, it is close enough to the convention center to be used by groups meeting there.
Even closer, though, are the 195-room Waco Hilton, which is attached to the center, and its sister property, the 147-room Courtyard by Marriott, across the street. As the convention center wrapped up its improvements, so did both hotels. The Hilton made $18 million in improvements; the Courtyard did $3 million in upgrades.
Across the street from the center, a cluster of old warehouses has become a restaurant and entertainment district that houses a country-western dance hall, bars, and restaurants serving anything from sushi and steak to Thai and Cajun Creole.
