The Salt Palace Convention Center
Adding new meaning to the concept of moves, adds, and changes with The Siemon Cabling System
"Usually a building like this opens, and within six to twelve months, it is obsoleted by another building that is considered to be a more state-of-the art facility. We wanted to be the place to go for several years, and we think that the Siemon Cabling System puts us in that position."
-Gary Dropko, SMG
In February of 1996, an $85 million renovation and expansion project was completed at the Salt Palace Convention Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The owner of the convention center, the Salt Lake County, employed Spectacor Management Group (SMG) to oversee the construction and management of the facility upon its completion. SMG is the world's leading company in the private development and management of public assembly facilities, including stadiums, arenas, theaters and exhibition/convention centers. They operate the facilities under long-term contracts or leases and assume full responsibility for financial and operating management. With more than 25 years experience in the stadium construction and management business, at arenas like Madison Square Garden and the Spectrum, in Philadelphia, Gary Dropko, Director of Operations, was brought in to make sure that the project was delivered on time and on budget.
According to Dropko, "Usually a building like this opens, and within six to twelve months, it is obsoleted by another building that is considered to be a more state-of-the art facility. We wanted to be the place to go for several years, and we think that the Siemon Cabling System puts us in that position." With 256,00 square feet of continuous exhibit space and movable walls that allow the space to be configured for one to six halls, 54,000 square feet of meeting space that can accommodate 30 to 1800 people, and a 36,000 square foot ballroom that has seating for up to 2,500 for a meal and 4,000 for a meeting, the structured cabling system needed to be flexible to accommodate the constant move, add, and change environment of the convention center.
Even before the renovation and expansion project was completed, $356 million of meetings, convention, and tradeshow business was booked in the new facility through the year 2000. Each of those events require different telecommunication configurations, Internet connections, and video distribution that must be installed and managed over an extremely compressed schedule. Adding new meaning to the normal concept of moves, adds and changes, the Facilities Services Coordinator, Deb Wayman, typically has two days to provide telecom and Internet connection service, three to four days to ensure that everything runs smoothly, and one day to tear everything down before repeating the cycle the following week.
Knowing that flexibility has a direct bearing on a convention center's ability to book shows, the Commissioners of Salt Lake County contracted with The Tanner Group to develop the telecommunications specifications for the Salt Palace Convention Center. Recognizing that municipal governments are in the business of administrating and managing local government, and that they are not created to manage convention centers, the County contracted with Spectacor Management Group to implement the specification that was developed by Todd Tanner. At the time, both Gary Dropko and Deb Wayman knew that their facility needed to employ leading edge technology, but neither had worked on a stadium or convention center project that utilized both Category 5 and fiber technologies. With that in mind, they knew that they would have to rely on the combined experience and reputation of industry leaders.
Initially, seven company responded to the Request for Proposal (RFP) that was issued, and ultimately the contract was awarded to Siemens Rolm Communications. According to Paul Wisniewski, Services Marketing Representative for Siemens Rolm, "Spectacore based their final decision on the ability of Siemens Rolm and the Siemon Cabling System to meet the demanding flexibility requirements of the proposed design and its intended use, the strength of the Siemon warranty, the reputation of Siemens Rolm Communications as the Certified Installer, and other work that Siemens Rolm had successfully completed in the Salt Lake City area."
The exhibit space is supported by a column layout that establishes a functional grid that is accessible by the in-floor cable trough system. Located on each column, the multimedia enclosures incorporate the Siemon Multi-Media Outlet (MMO) and S110® connecting hardware. The established 90' grid can support up to 24 UTP 4-pair cables and 24 fiber connections. Each of the enclosures are wired back to one of the seven telecommunication closets. When combined with the integrity and reliability of CommScope cabling, both Dropko and Wayman felt confident that the Siemon Cabling System would more than meet the convention requirements of today. Already, both Dropko and Wayman have been surprised by the demand for singlemode fiber for Internet and video distribution that has been easily accommodated by the system, further confirming that the Siemon Cabling System has provided the infrastructure that will support their future requirements.
Dropko knows that "One of the things inherent in construction is the small problems that come back to haunt you, after the project is completed." With the Siemon Cabling System and CommScope cable, we ensured that the cabling system, was not going to be one of those things that would come back to haunt us." As important as it is for an operations director to have confidence in the capabilities of the building that he manages, Gary Dropko knows the importance of having the proper people working for him to make it all work. He attributes much of the success of the installation and its smooth operation to the work and dedication of Deb Wayman. Not only did Deb attend and receive her Siemon certification in Watertown, CT, but she is the person who "owns" the structured cabling system.
Wayman worked closely with both the consultant and Siemens Rolm during the specification development and installation processes. From the first day of the project, through the weekly implementation meetings, Deb provided the "reality checks" that guaranteed that the system would work as it had to. She was instrumental in the final acceptance testing and will play a key role in the use of the system when the Salt Palace serves as the host to the International Media Center for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
In advance of the 2002 Olympic games, a second phase of renovation is scheduled to begin by the 4th quarter of 1996.
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