2 minute read
John R. Page, General Manager, Greater Columbus Convention Center
BY ANTHONY BILDEN
The Greater Columbus Convention Center (GCCC), located in Columbus, OH, is owned and developed by the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority (FCCFA) and managed by ASM Global. In the following Q&A, John R. Page discusses the facility’s response to COVID-19.
Q. How has your facility assisted the local community during the pandemic?
A. The GCCC is currently serving the community as an alternative care site for three local hospitals, with the ability to accommodate about 1,000 patients if a surge in COVID-19 patients occurred locally. The alternative care site has not been activated.
With financial support from the FCCFA, staff from the GCCC, GCCC food-service provider Levy and the FCCFA-owned Hilton Columbus Downtown distributed more than 14,000 meals over six weeks prepared by the Hilton culinary team to their staff members, the majority of which are on furlough status.
Q. What are your current reopening plans and preparations?
A. Several of our South Café & Marketplace merchants are already open. The facility itself reopened on June 1. We are accommodating Franklin County Municipal
Court traffic arraignments and eviction hearings through August. The GCCC remains subject to Ohio
Governor Mike DeWine’s ban on mass gatherings greater than 10 people. We, along with our destination marketing organization and corporate office, are planning an overall strategy to share with clients and alleviate any concerns. We have multiple committees working to establish best opening and operating practices.
Q. What new practices or technology will you implement to help prevent contagion when meetings resume?
A. ASM Global is unveiling VenueSheld, a best-in-class program for its venues on five continents, which will serve as a template providing assurance for guests regarding
cleanliness, guest seating, catering practices, etc., when visiting any ASM Global venue.
Virtual components for events will be even more popular. Our production partner, Mills James, has established streaming packages to assist clients and presented seminars to guide them with best practices.
Q. What overall message do you wish to send to planners who will be booking your facility for late 2020 or 2021?
A. We will soon be providing the assurance of
VenueShield, ASM Global’s new corporate program established to address current concerns, offer client comfort and a template of services designed for their health and safety during events at the GCCC. In the meantime, sales managers are rebooking events whose original event dates were affected by COVID-19 and booking multiple new events as well.
We also can assist events that have been displaced from other venues because of greater needs for physical distancing than those facilities can accommodate. As a venue with 1.8 million sq. ft., when it comes to space, we can go the distance to assist clients in successfully reshaping their events.
