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S PECI A L R E P ORT Continued from page 53 turmoil in Washington, that market is more uncertain," he said. Washington State Convention Center's McQuade said every event has some level of government employee attendees, including a conference on AIDS last year for which some participants had to get approval from their government agencies to attend. "Te Association of Military Surgeons is coming this year … (that) will be a good test of the policy," he said. Over the past decade, convention centers of all sizes have faced a demand for more meeting and breakout space as conventions and trade shows added more educational elements to the mix. Older, smaller and mid-sized convention centers ofen have been hard-pressed to meet this demand. "Our last expansion was in 2006," said Duke Energy Convention Center's Booth. "With a crystal ball, we would have added more meeting space then," he said. "We'd likely put meeting space at the top of the wish list for future expansion," he added. Nevertheless, those who operate mid-sized facilities have bright spots. At Chicago's Navy Pier, operated by SMG, there's been an increase in smaller consumer start-ups and tech/app expos targeted to a younger demographic, according to Tony Camarillo, senior director of sales and events. "We're also seeing a slight increase in market research events such as technology, transportation and new product launches looking for public and private space," he said. Navy Pier ranks No. 43 on this year's list. Mayer is pleased to see attendance increases in the programs staged by multilevel marketing groups such as Mary Kay Cosmetics that are regulars in Fort Worth. Tampa has seen an uptick in medical events at its convention center which has 200,000 square feet of prime space. "Medical is thriving," said Blanc. "We're looking at targeting partner events with a new medical center training facility," he said. Green Gauge Green issues don't appear to dominate the booking conversation at many mid-sized centers, though Tampa's Blanc said about 25% do have some green requirements in their RFPs. Virginia Beach has a LEED gold rating; Washington State has a LEED silver rating, "but it's not the only factor groups consider," Virginia Beach's Dyer said. McQuade said that's not the case in Seattle, where it is the primary factor for a few groups that meet at the Washington State Convention Center because of its sustainable practices. State of the Middle U.S. mid-sized facilities ofer an aggregate 13,572,349 square feet, or 84% of North American space. Canada's mid-sized facilities total 1,264,500 square feet — 8% of the total — and mid-sized centers in Mexico comprise 1,256,140 square feet for the remaining 8% of the total. In addition to Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center and Expo Bancomer Santa Fe, North American convention centers with 300,000 or more square feet of space are: the American Royal Center/ Kemper Arena in Kansas City, the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, BC and the Baltimore Convention Center. Stringent fiscal guidelines that may further restrict both the number of meetings and attendance at government and militaryrelated events were mentioned as a concern by nearly every mid-sized convention center executive interviewed for this story. 54 February 2013 | Trade Show Executive