Convention Center Final Walk Through Thursday

Putnam County officials will take the final walk-through of the new Putnam County Convention Center Thursday.

Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter said he and other officials will check on all the final points that need to be corrected before the building is turned over. Porter said the contractor is working on the finishing touches and expects the facility to be completed within the next couple of weeks.

“We still have to put the audio and visual stuff in and the speakers and projectors and those kinds of things in the building,” Porter said. “And we are installing the final things on our food preparation with the walk-in cooler and those kinds of things, but we are getting really close.”

Porter said the county has already received multiple phone calls from people wanting to host events in the convention center. Porter said once construction is complete the county will shift to building the expo center and between the two it would be an unbelievable tourism attraction for Putnam County.

“When the space is not even open yet and we’ve already got dozens of phone calls of folks not only hear locally with events but a lot of out-of-town folks who are looking to hold their events here we think it’s going to be great.”

Porter said the facility will hold up to 550 people in a banquet-style setting and up to 750 to 1,000 people in a theatre-style setting.

“It’ll divide up into one big room or into three smaller rooms,” Porter said. “So it will pretty much handle any kind of event that you want to have in it.  We think it’s going to be a very popular space. It’s right there off of the interstate with easy access into it and a lot of easy parking right in front of the building.”

Porter said the process of constructing the center has gone smoothly despite running into material shortages. Porter said the goal is to have the convention center open before the holiday season starts.