AEG OGDEN ANNOUNCES OMAN CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE GM

AEG OGDEN ANNOUNCES OMAN CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE GM

Internationally respected convention centre executive, Trevor McCartney has been appointed the inaugural General Manager at Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Mr. McCartney’s appointment was announced today by Geoff Donaghy, the Director of Convention Centres for AEG Ogden which manages the venue on behalf of Omran, the company established by the Government of Oman to deliver major projects and manage its assets and investments in the tourism sector.

Mr. McCartney was previously the Director of Business Development at the Qatar National Convention Centre, a role he has held since June 2011.

Before his appointment in Qatar, Mr. McCartney was Chief Executive at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching, Malaysia for three years and Director of International Sales and Operations at the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall, Thailand for a further three years. He has also been a key member of pre-opening teams at three major UK conference centres.

Mr Donaghy said there was considerable international interest in the position but the internal promotion of Mr. McCartney was an endorsement of the strength and talent within the AEG Ogden network.

“Trevor is an outstanding and experienced convention centre executive who is well respected throughout the industry globally.

“In the past decade, he has developed a strong understanding of the local cultures and managing congress venues in Asia and the Middle East and is suitably qualified to meet the challenges in the highly competitive business events industry,” Mr. Donaghy said.

Mr. McCartney is excited by his new role.

“The Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre is the new kid on the global conventions block and has tremendous potential.

“We look forward to working closely with Omran, the Ministry of Tourism and the local community to deliver first-class events that showcase the traditional and unique Omani hospitality and in creating extensive local employment opportunities,” Mr. McCartney said.

The Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre is due for completion in December 2016.

Mr. Donaghy said to date, AEG Ogden had been involved in the design and planning of the Centre and was now utilising its experience, extensive worldwide network and expertise in preparing the Centre for opening and competing for its share of the lucrative business events market.

“There are more than 200 convention and exhibition centres competing on the world stage for a slice of the business events pie but research already undertaken has identified international conventions with the potential to be held in Oman as far ahead as 2024,” he said.

Mr. McCartney will commence his new role in early 2014.

About the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre
Due for completion in late 2016, the Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre is located in its own fully integrated precinct only four kilometres from Muscat International Airport.

The design of the Centre will ensure a flow of the meetings space to suit the most discerning conference and exhibition organisers. It also incorporated expansive concourse areas to enable ease of large delegations with floor to ceiling windows overlooking landscaped gardens and water features.

The Centre will feature an elaborate tiered auditorium to seat 3,200 while the exhibition halls will feature 22,000 square metres of column-free exhibition space. Halls 1 and 2 will have a superior fit out, specialised acoustic treatment, advanced lighting and rigging requirements to act as a multi-purpose space for plenary sessions, concerts, performances, gala events on a larger scale of up to 10,000 seated, theatre-style.

The Centre will also include an additional 14 meeting rooms for 70-360 delegates, two well-appointed ballrooms to seat up to 2,360, VIP Pavilion, a spacious food-court and a multi-storey carpark with capacity for 4,000 vehicles.

The Precinct will provide the infrastructure necessary to host successful international, regional and local events and for the enjoyment of the community. These include a five star hotel linked to the convention centre, two four star, and a three star hotel and apartments with a combined total of 1,000 rooms. A business park, retail shopping mall surrounded by a nature reserve which will be a haven for Oman’s exotic birdlife, parklands and wadi (valley) park are also part of this picturesque precinct. http://www.omanconvention.com

About AEG Ogden
AEG Ogden is a joint venture between Australian venue management interests and AEG Facilities of the United States.
AEG Ogden manages venues throughout the Asia Pacific region, including convention centres in Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Kuala Lumpur, Oman (under construction), Sydney (construction commencing 2014) and the Sydney Exhibition Centre @ Glebe Island (from February 2014); arenas including Sydney’s Allphones Arena, the Sydney Entertainment Centre (from December 2013), the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, the Newcastle Entertainment Centre and Perth Arena; Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane; and live theatres including Perth’s His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth Concert Hall, the WA State Theatre Centre, Albany Entertainment Centre, and Subiaco Arts Centre. http://www.aegogden.com

In addition, AEG Facilities was recently announced as operator of both the Los Angeles Convention Centre and Hawaii Convention Centre.

For more information contact:
Greg Adermann
Group Communications Manager, AEG Ogden