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SMG looks forward to Convention Center role

SMG manages convention centers as large as McCormick Place, the Chicago behemoth on the shores of Lake Michigan, and as small as the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center in Punta Gorda, Fla. But winning control of Philadelphia's Convention Center has special meaning.

McCormick Place in Chicago, which has 2.6 million square feet, is also managed by SMG. In early 2012, reporters arrived on the main floor for a review of the 2012 Chicago Auto Show. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
McCormick Place in Chicago, which has 2.6 million square feet, is also managed by SMG. In early 2012, reporters arrived on the main floor for a review of the 2012 Chicago Auto Show. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)Read more

SMG manages convention centers as large as McCormick Place, the Chicago behemoth on the shores of Lake Michigan, and as small as the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center in Punta Gorda, Fla. But winning control of Philadelphia's Convention Center has special meaning.

"This time it's personal," said SMG president and CEO Wes Westley on Thursday, a day after the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority board voted to make the West Conshohocken-based firm the manager of the challenged facility.

It was just the latest in a string of successes for SMG, whose portfolio has grown to 235 venues worldwide, including 70 convention centers. Philadelphia's is the ninth convention center management contract that SMG has been awarded in the last 30 months.

The company's range of management experience was the difference-maker in the vote, said Gregory J. Fox, the board chairman. And the competition was no slouch: Hometown Global Spectrum, a division of Comcast-Spectacor, which manages Lincoln Financial Field, Wells Fargo Center, and other arenas here.

McCormick Place, which has 2.6 million square feet, privatized its management in April 2011 and entered into a formal agreement with SMG to operate the building and provide its food-and-beverage service through a subsidiary, Savor.

"They were part of a multipronged change here in Chicago, including massive reforms in labor and exhibitor rights," Don Welsh, president and chief executive of Choose Chicago, the city's tourism and convention bureau, said Thursday.

"There has been a marked improvement in the operations of the building, and we've gotten incredible feedback on the quality and fair pricing of our food and beverage."

That should hearten both the local board and Philadelphia's hoteliers, because high cost and customer service have been steady concerns regarding the Convention Center's inability to lure the largest groups. The expansion of the Convention Center was singularly directed at attracting the largest contingents. The situation has caused acrimony, much of it directed at the unions that do work at PCC.

"We believe that it is possible to take what is a significant marketing impediment and turn it into an advantage," SMG senior vice president Gregg Caren said regarding the labor issues.

"Philadelphia has in its labor force a skilled and capable resource that is vital to the success of event producers. Our goal is to eliminate the hassles that lessen the experience for the exhibitor by providing them with cost certainty, transparency, and a productive work experience on the show floor," he said.

Fox said the contract with SMG would be finalized this month and take effect 60 to 90 days later. He said he was "very confident" SMG will be able to work with all the groups to improve the customer experience.

SMG is nothing if not homegrown. Facilities Management Group was formed in 1977 by Hyatt, the hotel chain. Spectacor Management Inc. was created in 1982 by Flyers owner Ed Snider. They merged in 1988 to form SMG. In 1991, Aramark acquired a one-third interest in SMG and made Wesley, then an Aramark executive, the chief financial officer. He became president and CEO in 1994.

SMG created a specialized convention center division in 1995. Three years later, Hyatt and Aramark acquired full control of SMG from Snider, who later formed Global Spectrum.

In 2006, SMG was bought by American Capital of Bethesda, Md.