(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — SMG Mexico has been awarded the contract by Mexico-based Grupo Autofin to manage the Expo Imperial and Foro Imperial, new exhibition and convention centers in the Diamante section of Acapulco, Mexico.
The Expo and Foro Imperial are part of the Mundo Imperial Project, which also includes Casa Imperial, a hotel resort complex with 879 rooms and Fiesta Imperial, a 210,000-square-foot plaza which will be home to restaurants, lounges, discotheques and artistic and cultural events.
With exhibit and meeting space totaling over 360,000 square feet, Expo Imperial will host various exhibitions and conventions. The adjacent Foro Imperial, a 4,800-seat performing arts theater, will bring the best cultural, sports and artistic shows to Mexico, including Broadway tours. The complex is projected to open on Nov. 1, 2007.
SMG’s International Sales Office will help promote the new center, while the firm’s Sports and Entertainment Division will promote concert and family show bookings for the Foro Imperial. The theater will also serve as general session venue for conventions, meetings and incentive groups.
The Mundo Imperial Project is headed by Grupo Autofin Mexico, the leading company in new vehicle merchandising. With 60 companies, 6,200 partners, 170 points of purchase in Mexico and more that 1 million clients, the family-owned company is the leader in the auto financing and real estate lending industries.
This project in Acapulco, SMG’s second venture in Mexico, has capitalized on its local tie with Maryland-based E.J. Krause, one of the world’s largest privately held exhibition management companies. On Nov. 2, 2005, SMG Mexico took over management of the World Trade Center in Mexico City’s central business district.
“This alliance is helping to raise the level of exposure for exhibition centers in Mexico. Teamwork is the key to promoting Mexico as an international place for important events of all countries, and Expo Imperial and Foro Imperial are the perfect venues. I am sure that after the inauguration next year, the complex will be recognized as a key location for the Americas,” said Paul St. Amour, Director General of E.J. Krause’s Mexican operation.
“We always felt that once we got our foot in the door in Mexico, additional opportunities would present themselves,” said Gregg Caren, SMG’s Vice President of Business Development. “The relationship with E.J. Krause has proven to be exactly what we had hoped, giving us the local support on cultural issues and standard business practice while we focus on providing our traditional facility management and marketing expertise.”
According to Juan Antonio Hernandez, president of Grupo Autofin Mexico, “SMG has already gotten top ratings from their recent clients in Mexico City. They have brought in many new ideas, and will clearly leverage both Mexican facilities in their promotional work, just as they do with their U.S. venues.”
The new management agreement took effect Feb. 1, 2006, allowing SMG to assist with the final design just as construction begins. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
