Jekyll Island Convention Center Fact Sheet
Contact Anna Hall
912.635.4046
ahall@jekyllisland.com
Gov. Nathan Deal will do the honors of cutting the ribbon and officially opening the highly-anticipated
Jekyll Island Convention Center. During the May 20, 2012 ribbon cutting ceremony, Gov. Deal will be
joined by the Jekyll Island Authority Board, Authority leaders and staff, as well as members of the public
and attendees to the Center’s first convention, the Georgia Rural Water Association.
The new Jekyll Island Convention Center has been a work in progress for more than four years, and will
prove to be a vessel of economic growth and tourism stimulation on Georgia’s jewel island. Since May
2012, the Jekyll Island Convention Center has held 128 events, with more than 99,500 attendees coming
through its doors in less than a year.
Features of the Jekyll Island Convention Center include:
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128,000-square feet, with the Atlantic Ballroom and two sections of Meeting Rooms
o Marsh-side section, with 5 meeting rooms
o Ocean-side section, with 5 meeting rooms and the Ben Porter Salon
7,800-square feet of ocean-front meeting space
Atlantic Hall, main ballroom, can be used as one 45,000-square foot room or divided two, three
or four smaller rooms
o As one room, can hold 6,450 people for standing reception; 4,068 theater capacity;
2,520 roundtable reception; 2,100 classroom capacity; 250 tables at capacity
Individual low-lighting in 90 percent of the building
Extra women’s restroom for the increased comfort and convenience of female guests
Reclaimed South Georgia pine wood for the 2,800-square-foot Ben Porter Salon meeting area,
which features an additional 30,000-square-feet of outdoor patio and lawn space
Oyster shells used as material for interior and exterior floor surfaces
Beach hues of green, blue and sand used to reflect oceanic atmosphere and neighboring
maritime forest
Outdoor gazebo ideal for beachfront weddings and celebration
Three outdoor fire pits
Multiple indoor and outdoor pre-function gathering areas
Porte cochere outdoor entrance; can equip two, side-by-side motor coach buses
The only oceanfront convention center on the east coast south of New Jersey
Electric outlets hidden under carpet panel for wireless-feel
Wireless internet throughout the building
office: 912-635-2236
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100 James Road, Jekyll Island, Georgia 31527
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fax: 912-635-4004
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Walls decorated with photography capturing the essence of Jekyll Island, with images coming
from the “Nearest Faraway Place” Jekyll Island photography book
Silver LEED Certification
o A reflective roof
o Solar panel overhangs
o Parking space for electric cars, complete with recharger
o 80,000-gallon cistern for rainwater storage
o Water-efficient landscape
Three adjacent hotels, giving the island 1,000 hotel rooms
o Hyatt Place, a limited-service, 135-bed hotel, to open 2013
o Westin, a full-service, 200-bed hotel, to open 2014
o Jekyll Island Club Hotel cottages, 39 suites, to open by 2014
Construction took less than 2 years, starting in 2010 and finishing Spring 2012, totaling $39.6
million
Georgia Rural Water Association will be the first convention in the center, with its annual
meeting to begin May 20
Center is contracted with SMG for management
St. Simons Island-native Allyson Jackson serves as manager, with 15 to 20 full-time employees
and an estimated 100 part-time employees will be hired, based on convention bookings
More than 200 conventions booked through 2016; an estimated $40 million impact to local
economy
Jekyll Island Convention Center replaces the former Aquarama convention center built in 1961