Georgia World Congress Center loses $1.3 Million In Economic Downturn

ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia World Congress Center’s loss for last fiscal year was worse than projected, and it is only expected to worsen this year.

The 3.9 million square-foot conference center campus in downtown Atlanta lost $1.3 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30. It’s the first budget decline for the expansive center since 2005.

Center executive director Michael Graveline had expected to take an $800,000 budget hit after the convention industry declined amid the sagging economy. Companies are not sending workers to big meetings at the same rate, and trade shows are using less space than they have in the past.

Graveline says this year will be much worse, with a projected loss of $5.7 million, most of which will come in the first six months of the fiscal year.