Lauren E. Toney

For the Sun-News

LAS CRUCES - A dream more than 30 years in the making became a reality Saturday for many residents who toured the modern Las Cruces Convention Center for the first time during a daylong open house.

As residents walked the 55,000-square-foot facility, taking in the spacious ballroom and peeking into meeting rooms, David Hicks, the center's general manager, said, "I hope residents will see this beautiful building and feel proud."

The culmination of events heralding the grand opening of the $27 million facility, Saturday's open house offered residents just a taste of what's to come at the new Las Cruces Convention Center, Hicks said.

More than 15 events have already taken place since the center opened for business in December, with 65 more planned throughout the next six months.

A bridal show, home and garden show and the New Mexico High School Coaches Association convention are among the events set to take place at the new facility, Hicks said.

"From an economic standpoint, the center is a great thing for Las Cruces," he said. "Events (held at the convention center) will bring visitors to Las Cruces. They will stay at our hotels, dine at our restaurants and visit our attractions."

On average, Hicks said each visitor the Convention Center brings to Las Cruces is expected to spend $165 per day in the city.

With space for more than 150 booths in the facility's exhibition hall, theater-style seating for more than 1,200 and

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dinner seating for more than 700 and equipped with an on-site executive chef and all the amenities needed to host a variety of events, Hicks said, "I hope residents will see this beautiful facility, turn to their friends and co-workers and say, 'Let's hold our next event at the convention center.'"

Organizations set up booths to display their efforts in the Las Cruces community, while law enforcement agencies parked police and armored SWAT vehicles and emergency-response vehicles alongside in the center's exhibition hall as part of a Touch-A-Truck event held Saturday during the facility's open house.

"Normally, these vehicles (from a mobile DWI unit truck to an ambulance) are not ones you want to find yourself sitting in, but during this event, kids are given a fun opportunity to learn about what these trucks are used for and they can get an up-close look inside," Hicks said.

Isaac Chavez of Las Cruces toured the facility with his family, including wife Ellie and sons Octavian, 3, and Hadrian, 20 months, for the first time Saturday.

After learning from a EMT how patients are transported in an ambulance, Chavez said, "For months, my son, Octavian and I would drive by the convention center as it was being built and he would always ask me, 'When do we get to see inside?'"

He continued, "It is so much bigger on the inside than it appears from the outside. It's very modern and these rooms are just huge."

With two youngsters, Chavez said he and his wife, who attended a gala dinner at the center Friday evening, are looking forward to attending many kid-friendly events at the new facility.

"When you have children, you always have to plan ahead," he said. "The main hallway is nice and wide, it's a beautiful facility, but there aren't a lot of breakable objects, and I learned that these carpet squares are easily replaceable if something is spilled."

Chavez continued, "Today's event was a great opportunity to see the whole space in the daylight. Octavian really liked seeing the animal control truck, and now we're off to find the booth with the Lego's."

Lauren E. Toney can be reached at (575) 541-5447; ltoney@lcsun-news.com.

By the numbers

•680: The address on University Avenue where the convention center is located.

•(575) 526-0101: Telephone number for the Las Cruces Convention Center.

•8: Full-time employees

•20: Part-time employees.

•10.1: Acres that the facility was built on.

•55,000: Building's total square footage.

•30,000: Square feet of meeting space.

•6: Additional meeting rooms, separate from the ballroom and exhibition hall.

•14,500: Square feet in the center's exhibition hall.

•75: The number of exhibits that can be displayed in the exhibition hall.

•9,000: Approximate square footage of the center's ballroom.

•45: The number of exhibits that can be displayed in the ballroom.

•8,500: Square feet of indoor pre-function space.

•5,000: Square feet of outdoor pre-function space.

•27: The amount, in millions of dollars, it cost to build the convention center .

•350: Parking spaces

•100 plus: Overflow parking spaces.