CONFERENCES, MEETINGS, wedding receptions, and even a fashion show, were all events that the new Mississippi Telecommunications and Conference and Training Center saw during its first year of operation.

The center, which opened its doors on January 13, 2006 for its first event - the Magnolia Bar Association’s annual conference - exceeded its goal of 200 event days by 16, an increase of eight percent, according to a press release from the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Just a few of the conferences that were held at the center in 2006 were Mississippi statewide conferences like the Wildlife Federation, Housing Authority, Development Authority, Minority Business Conference, Information Systems, Department of Education, and the Pandemic Flu Summit, said Linda McCarthy, general manager of the center, in a previous interview.

Other events include the Southeast Regional Civil Rights Conference, Conference on High Technology, Goldman Sachs of New York, the REMAX Regional Conference, and the World Assemblies Restoration Conference.

Other groups that have held events at the center include governmental, business, fraternal, education, real estate, arts and religious groups.

For 2007, TelCom officials have set a goal of exceeding the 2006 total for event days, and McCarthy says they will “absolutely” reach that goal.

“We expect that 68 percent of our 2006 business will rebook for this year, plus our first and second quarter booking calendar shows most weekends are booked,” McCarthy said in a written statement.

THE TELCOM CENTER, AT 74,000 square feet, can hold events up to 1,000 people.

The new convention center will add 264,500 square feet of convention space, including a 60,000 square foot exhibit hall and a 30,000 square foot ballroom, according to McCarthy. Total cost to build the center was $17.5 million.

The TelCom center is just the first part of a major convention center and event district that is being created that will also include the new Capital City Convention Center which broke ground in June 2006 and should be open for events by January 2009.

The convention center, costing approximately $52.4 million to build, will be able to hold events of up to 8,000 people.

The two centers, which will be adjacent to and will also connect to each other, are meant to compliment one another. The TelCom center is a smaller venue for small to medium sized meetings and events, while the convention center will be able to host larger scale events.

Located downtown on Pascagoula Street, the convention district will be located in proximity to Thalia Mara Hall, the Mississippi Museum of Art, and the Davis Planetarium.

Jackson voters approved moving forward with funding the convention center in a referendum vote during the 2004 election. Passage of the referendum, which called for a one percent sales tax increase on restaurant transactions, a three percent tax increase on hotel stays, and a three percent tax increase on catering at the convention center, exceeded the necessary 60 percent approval rate. Approximately 66 percent of voters voted for funding the convention center.

In 1995 the state Legislature overrode then Gov. Kirk Fordice’s veto of a bill that created the Mississippi Telecommunications Conference and Training Center Commission, and authorized the issuance of $17.5 million in general obligation bonds for the TelCom center’s construction.

Construction of the TelCom center wrapped up in early 2006. Construction on the convention center should begin as early as the beginning of February.