A 10-year, $100 million renovation project at the Tucson Convention Center is now complete with technological additions and a nod to the past.
“This project has been years in the making and is now about to be a time machine recognizing and honoring the history of these lands through the amazing advancements in technology with 3D augmented reality,” said Rio Nuevo Chairman, Fletcher McCusker. “A Culture Walk has been created where visitors can immerse themselves in moments of history — experiencing the land, and the people who came before us.”
Large screens display videos of what the barrio looked like before the Tucson Convention Center was built.
The creation of the Rio Nuevo district was to reignite economic activity in the downtown area with the TCC as the centerpiece.
Improvements to the TCC include 233,000 square feet of new and remodeled meeting space, public walkways and gathering places, water features, sculptures and landscaping.
There are more than 70 display screens and augmented reality installations that will educate visitors about the area’s history.
Improvements to the convention center also included new seating, concessions, score board, on-site hotel, music hall upgrades and two parking garages with 900 spaces.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday served as a launch of the TCC mobile app, which gives visitors access to the augmented reality content.
The improvements to the convention center also included new seating, concessions, score board, on-site hotel, music hall upgrades and two parking garages with 900 spaces.
The Tucson City Council approved a massive downtown redevelopment project in 1965 that leveled businesses and neighborhoods to make way for the city-county government complex, the TCC, Music Hall and La Placita Village.
