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[EXECUTIVE SUMMARY]
[PUBLIC SURVEY]
[EVENT PROJECTIONS]
[FEATURE & AMENITIES]
Features and Amenities
The following features and amenities should be considered during the planning
and development of the Okaloosa County Conference Center. Key consideration during the
design phase of the project should be creating a conference center with maximum
flexibility that creates the greatest opportunity for generating revenues and is cost
effective to maintain and operate.
- The Conference Center should have the flexibility to support the widest
variety of events possible including consumer shows, conventions, corporate meetings,
graduations, trade shows, concerts and sporting events.
- The Conference Center should have ample break- out/meeting rooms in various
sizes to provide meeting planners flexibility in planning their event. These rooms should
vary in size, have operable walls, good lighting and be relative to the exhibit space. The
meeting rooms and meeting room prefunction area should also be planned as exhibit space.
The position and sizing of these spaces should be such to allow for the creation of a
contiguous exhibit utilising the meeting rooms, meeting room prefunction area and exhibit
hall.
- The ceiling height in the exhibit hall should be a minimum of 35 feet.
Provisions should be made for concert rigging over the stage area of approximately 60,000
pounds. Rigging capabilities will be needed throughout the exhibit hall.
- A spotlight platform large enough for two (2) follow spots should be provided
in the exhibit hall.
- The parking lot should be considered for use as an outdoor exhibit space and
tented function area. Consideration should be given in the parking lot design for
collecting parking fees and quick ingress and egress for events. Included in the parking
lot construction should be electrical and water connections for recreational vehicles. To
minimize the parking requirements, a shuttle bus system should be considered to help
minimize the impact to local traffic from events. The shuttle bus system will greatly
enhance the marketability of the Conference Center conventions and conferences by
alleviating users' concerns regarding transportation.
- Ten (10) to fifteen (15) motorised battens approximately 60' in length
should be considered over the staging area in the exhibit hall. These battens would
provide users with the ability to hang drapes, lighting, scenery and other event related
equipment in an intimate "Theatre" environment for theatrical performances,
corporate meetings, parties, dances and banquets.
- Overhead doors to the exhibit hall should be conveniently located throughout
the exhibit hall to provide easy ingress/egress and facilitate load inlload out for
events.
- A quality level of finish should be used that is easy to maintain,
particularly in the meeting rooms and any public, prefunction or lobby areas.
- The Center should have quality sound and audio visual equipment which is
essential for attracting and maintaining a good client base. Additionally the exhibit
hall, meeting rooms and prefunction areas should be acoustically treated to maximise
clarity for speakers and musical performances.
- The air conditioning system must be designed to efficiently service low load
conditions as well as high load conditions. In addition, the chillers for the air
conditioning system should be sized to provide one chiller for low load conditions and two
chillers sized to meet the event load requirements.
- Consideration should be given in the design of the Conference Center to allow
for contiguous expansion of the exhibit hall and meeting room spaces.
- An operable wall should be considered in the main exhibit hall that divides
the space in half. The meeting room spaces should be designed to function as individual
spaces or one contiguous space. Ceiling height should be proportionate to the largest
combined space.
- A full service kitchen should be considered capable of providing full course
banquet meals. A separate loading dock should be provided for food service operations that
has direct access to the kitchen and is segregated from show docks.
- The exhibit hall should also function as banquet and ballroom space.
Appropriate task and specially lighting will be required to accommodate both of these
activities. Additionally, painting the ceiling and the upper portion of the exhibit hall
walls black should be considered to help reduce the perceived height of the space.
Portable chandeliers on motorised rigging points should also be considered for banquets.
- Typically in exhibit halls, event utilities are provided in floor boxes -
spaced 30' on center. Utilities provided include electrical outlets, water outlets, drains
and telecommunication outlets. In coastal areas, consideration should be given for
providing event utilities through utility trenches with removable cabling. This will
prevent the need to make repairs to extensive underground utility systems in the event
flooding occurs.
- The box office should have a minimum of four (4) exterior and two (2) interior
ticket windows and be located at the main entry with a direct connection to the
administrative office.
- Telescopic seating should be considered to add flexibility to the exhibit hall
for use during conferences, meetings, theatrical performances, sporting events and family
shows. When planning for telescopic seating, consideration should be given for storing the
risers in the exhibit hall and masking them for events when not in use.
- The exhibit hall should be a 27,000 square foot column free space designed to
maximise a 10' x 10' trade show booth layout. Consideration for egress to and from the
exhibit hall should also focus on maximising the number of exhibit booths. The finish of
the exhibit hall floor should be sealed concrete.
- Utilities should be provided in floor boxes in the lobby and prefunction
areas.
- The Conference Center should be fully compliant with the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Florida Clean Air Act.
- The exhibit hall must be accessible for large trucks and recreational
vehicles. Overhead doors 16' wide x 20' high should be provided into the exhibit hall from
the loading dock and lobby.
- A catwalk should be provided that spans the exhibit hall floor to access
overhead lighting and assist with event preparation.
- A covered drop-off area should be provided at the main entrance to the
Conference Center.
- Meeting room features should include:
- carpet or carpet squares.
- an overhead distributed sound system.
- a dimmable lighting system that can serve each meeting room individually
or be combined for multiple meeting rooms.
- electrical and telecommunications service for exhibits, no water outlets
or drains are required in the meeting rooms.
- sound insulation between meeting rooms to minimize noise infiltration
between rooms.
- quiet air handling equipment.
