New Lancaster Center

Integrated facility combines 90,000 square feet of meeting space with 19 floors of guestrooms.

By Marilynn Joyner

The Lancaster County Convention Center opened June 24, after two years of construction on the integrated facility, which also includes the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square. Nestled in downtown Lancaster, Pa., the $177-million facility is surrounded by scenic rural landscapes.

“Meeting planners are amazed by the location, history and meticulous renovations of the convention center and hotel,” Joshua Nowak says, convention center director of sales and marketing. Lancaster is home to the nation’s oldest community of Old Order Amish and a wealth of African-American history. A 20,000-sq.-ft., $20-million interactive museum is in the works to honor the regions civil rights and public education history.

“The building will encompass the law office and home of Thaddeus Stevens and significant artifacts from the Underground Railroad system,” says Nowak. The museum will honor the African-American journey for freedom from the time of the Underground Railroad to the Civil War.

The combined meeting space of the convention center and 299-room hotel is 90,000 square feet. Two grand ballrooms and an exhibit hall, along with meeting and boardrooms, enable the venue to host meetings up to 5,000. With other facilities in the area holding no more than 250 people, the Lancaster Convention Center expects to keep steady bookings. According to Nowak, there is a broad spectrum of groups that come to Lancaster for trade shows, conferences, cheerleading, wrestling competitions and car shows.

Conference attendees can enjoy offsite activities such as, golfing, fly-fishing and shopping at the Premium Outlets. “Some other sites include the outlet mall, Dutch Wonderland and Hershey Park, which is just outside the city,” Nowak says. Located within the Mid-Atlantic corridor, the center is 90 minutes from both Philadelphia and Baltimore.