Alan Steel, President and CEO, New York Convention Center Operating Corporation

ALAN STEEL

PRESIDENT AND CEO, NEW YORK CONVENTION CENTER OPERATING CORPORATION

BY GEORGE SELI what we’re building is essentially a logistics support center.

New York has been one of the most embattled U.S. cities can actually get them in and out faster. It will be a huge during the pandemic, and the Javits Center has certainly advantage to our customers. The new ballroom and meeting done its part to help residents as the number of cases peaked. spaces are directly above the garage, so it’s combined into Last month, the facility concluded its stint as a hospital, the design. and President and CEO Alan Steel now looks forward to reestablishing group business in a more hygienic environment. Q. In general, what are today’s clients looking for in the But like the ongoing Javits Center expansion, the convention design of convention centers? center’s new protocols in the wake of COVID-19 are still a work A. Event producers have been looking for flexibility, and we’re in progress. What venues and groups perceive as necessary trying to give them the maximum amount of flexibility measures is in flux, Steel observes. so they can hold their events in “There is the reaction today, the whatever fashion they want: indoor reaction in three months’ time, the or outdoor, or a combination of both. reaction in 12 months’ time and so Our new ballroom/event space can on. We’re going to do some things accommodate about 6,000 people, now, but it may well be that the things and you can also have 1,500 people we do today we won’t need to do outdoors. So it’s going to be a very tomorrow or we’ll do differently,” he large space in terms of Manhattan’s says. In the following discussion, Steel current availability. addresses the risk-mitigating protocols being considered, the progress of the Q. How will the expansion benefit expansion as well as the outlook for Javits Center meetings. “Having spent as much time in A. some new and existing clients? In terms of existing clients, groups Q. A. What is the current timeline for completing the expansion? It is due to be completed in March of 2021. We actually suspended isolation as we have, we know that people really want to be together, even if they don’t want to be together closer than six feet.” like the National Retail Federation are very much in need of additional space, and particularly additional meeting space because they have very large keynote work on the expansion after the sessions. And we’ve not been able outbreak of COVID-19, and restarted it [last month]. The to give them that space without challenges in the past. In west end is substantially completed from an exterior terms of new customers, for many years a lot of medical perspective; the east end still has to be closed off. We’re conventions have avoided coming to New York, even starting work on interior finishes. though the market is appealing to them because of Q. What do you consider some of the standout features primarily because we didn’t have the meeting space that of the project? they needed, but now we’ll be able to accommodate them. A. We are going to be LEED Platinum certified. We’ve also So we’re already beginning to see business domestically focused a lot on outdoor spaces, so we have an outdoor and internationally from medical groups and legal groups, pavilion that can also accommodate 1,500 people. Given those who didn’t need a large exhibit space, which is what what we’ve just gone through, outdoor spaces for groups Javits primarily was, but needed a large amount of meeting to congregate may become more popular because they are rooms. less restrictive spaces. And we’re building a one-acre farm And because we’re adding another 27 loading docks, we the density of their customers [in the area]. And that’s up on the roof that will grow herbs and vegetables for use Q. What kinds of measures to prevent contagion are in our kitchens. But one of the most significant elements currently being developed in the convention center of what we’re building is a four-story parking garage that industry, and at Javits in particular? is designed to accommodate not cars, but trucks. One of A. I think the industry will come out with guidelines, but one the challenges in Manhattan is [limited parking] space, so of the challenges will be that different municipalities and

states may have different requirements and regulations. It may end up being more of a patchwork than a standard across the industry. What we’re going to do is work with our customers to see what kind of requirements they think they need for their customers, because ultimately none of us will be successful if what we do doesn’t meet the end user’s sense of being safe and comfortable. So we’re looking at our cleaning systems, temperature monitoring systems and so on. We’re going through all of the various options and we’re developing a full decontamination plan. And then we’ll sit down with our customers and say, ‘Do you want these things? Do you want, for example, temperature sensors at the door?” Because these things are not without complication. If we were to have a temperature sensor at the door and suddenly someone who flew in from California was told, “Sorry, you can’t come in because you have a high temperature,” I’m not sure that’s what our event organizers want to do. So I think we want to have them be part of the conversation. And [the solutions have] to be affordable too.

Q. How do you see social distancing impacting the convention center meetings from logistical and business perspectives?

A. In the beginning, I think we’re going to limit the size of meetings in our space. We have, in any case, a restriction on the number of people we can host as mandated by the government, which is 500 people at this point. How that plays out with [clients] I have yet to work out, because it changes the financial model for most convention centers. Most charge rent on the basis of net square footage. And if you need twice as much space because of social distancing, that changes the economic model. Even though you have more space, you may not be able to do more events and get more people into the building. These are early discussions that we’re beginning to have in the industry. I think that as venues, we need to be sensitive to and conscious of our clients. At the same time, hopefully they’ll be conscious of our financial models and how we can solve them.

Q. How is future business looking at this point? Are you getting positive signs from clients?

A. I would say there is interest and appreciation of face-to-face meetings, which everyone is pleased about. And having spent as much time in isolation as we have, we know that people really want to be together, even if they don’t want to be together closer than six feet. From my perspective in Javits, I’d like to think that we could begin to see some business in late August or early September.

Q. It seems the local and regional groups will likely come back first. Would you agree?

A. Yes, it’s one of the reasons I’m kind of positive about New

York, because we have a very strong regional economy. And

I think that’s potentially something we can look to carry us through the early stages, because people may not wish to travel as far. And they may be willing to come to New York and kind of support the city as they did after 9/11.

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