The Pine Bluff Convention Center is beginning the year with several projects aimed at bringing the Civic Auditorium Complex to a more attractive state.
"We have started to paint the ceiling in the auditorium as part of the task list of renovations on the convention center," said Convention Center Director Joseph McCorvey during the Civic Auditorium Complex Commission conference call meeting on Tuesday.
In a follow-up interview with the Pine Bluff Commercial, McCorvey said his vision is to do what his office can to upgrade the convention center so it will have continuity when the Plaza Hotel is renovated or replaced.
In April of 2019, members of the Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotions Commission took a tour of the Pine Bluff Convention Center to look at repairs needed for the convention center, one being a roof that was damaged from a hail storm the year before.
Also reported were the walls and floors that were separated in portions of the dressing room areas of the auditorium, and the stage floor, which had been damaged from leaks caused by the hail storm.
Many improvements were made to the building, which was built in the mid-1970s, since then, including a new roof, but McCorvey still has an intensive renovation project list.
"I took an inventory when I first took this job of the entire building inside and out and we have several things that need to be addressed," said McCorvey, who added that the work is being done based on what can be afforded at this point.
To save money, the convention staff is handling most of the projects, but some projects on the list will require contractors.
Besides repairing and painting the auditorium ceiling, other projects include the following:
• Paint the arena ceiling and heating and air conditioning ductwork.
• Upgrade the heating and air conditioning air filtration with a modern filter system.
• Replace ceiling tiles in the common lobby.
• Replace/paint ceiling tiles on the arena concourses.
• Replace air walls in the banquet hall.
• Renovate the main office and box office facade.
• Upgrade the restrooms with "no-touch" appliances.
• Replace the grid and tile in the banquet hall.
• Work on the security fence at the loading dock.
• Renovate the Presidential Suite.
Previous projects that were done in the past couple of years to the convention center included striping the parking lots, installing speakers in the banquet hall and deep cleaning and painting the kitchen area.
A couple of air conditioner units were also replaced during the spruce up of the old building.
With no timeline of completion, McCorvey said everything will be done based on the outcome of the hotel.
"We just are trying to do what we can with our team in place. Our team can do a lot of this work," he said. "It will be nice to have the convention center tasks complete simultaneously close to the hotel completion."
