SUPER-SIZED SCREEN UPGRADE FOR GCCEC

PICTURE yourself on this . . .

A screen that’s 27m wide and 5.5m high will get pride of place at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC) as part of a $500,000 upgrade of the audiovisual capacity at the popular venue.

The super-screen is part of the centre’s energised plans to maintain competitiveness in a challenging environment and improve on an impressive year, in which conferences at the GCCEC attracted an average of 362,000 visitor days.

Events like the Mitre 10 conference (1400 delegates), Pharmacy Guild (1700), Microsoft Tech Ed (2800) and the Gartner Symposium (1400) exceeded expectations and pushed delegate numbers above the previous year’s figure.

GCCEC general manager Adrienne Readings says the current business environment is tougher and she is cautious about making predictions for 2012.

“We have had really good numbers so far and I am expecting that to continue for the rest of the financial year, but I am predicting we might be a little down next year,” says Readings.

“The conference calendar is cyclical in nature; organisers like to change up their locations each year. Some years are bumper years, and then the next year may not have the same kind of numbers.”

Readings says the audio-visual upgrade was necessary because modern business has high expectations for conference venues and demands hi-tech facilities.

The $30,000 super-screen showcases vision from a 3 Barco HDX W14 High Definition Projectors, with three projector images blended using the Encore system to create a single image.

The GCCEC has also added a smaller 16m wide by 5.5m high screen to its range of AV equipment operating in the same way but using two projectors to create one blended image.

Both screens are available to use in the GCCEC’s Arena and Halls in various room configurations.

When the centre’s new AV team launches on July 1, the technology at its disposal will be impressive.

The installation of the screens also follows the activation of GCCEC’s new free Wi-Fi service.

“Our clients have access to so many competitive products in the current market that they are coming to us with more defined expectations,” says Readings.

“They are seeking value for money, high-end technology and a highly tailored product, not a stock-standard solution.”

“Continuing to strengthen our appeal to the business events sector as a flexible worldclass venue, the GCCEC has welcomed new initiatives on board to enhance the event experience for our visitors and really sharpen our product.”

Readings says the AV team will play an integral part of future events.

“The thinking behind this is to create a seamless event experience for our clients from start to finish by servicing all staging and production requirements,” she says.

“Over the years our clients have come to us with different ideas about how they want to make their conferences stand out from the rest, from carnival-inspired gala dinners to sophisticated cocktail parties overlooking the Broadbeach skyline,” she says.

“Our new audio-visual team is full of creative ideas which they can’t wait to materialise.”

Readings says the Gold Coast is a major attraction point for clients of the venue.

“The Gold Coast is obviously still in the forefront of people’s minds and is still seen as great value. It is a great destination for conferences and has the facilities as well as the accommodation to support that.

“There is good infrastructure and an abundance of professional groups capable of helping stage these events.”

GCCEC won the Qantas Tourism Australia Marketing and Business Tourism category and was placed runner up in the international stage of the awards. The centre is owned by the Queensland State Government and managed by Echo Entertainment Group.