|
The International Exposition Center, also known as the I-X Center, is a convention and exhibition hall located in Cleveland, Ohio, adjacent to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The building includes over total square feet of exhibition and conference space, making it one of the largest meeting, convention, and exhibition centers in the United States. The diverse show schedule includes public events featuring one of the country's largest boat shows, Trade Show 200 events, banquets and meetings attracting over 2 million visitors each year. Originally located within Brook Park, Ohio, the building and of neighboring land became part of Cleveland in a 2001 land swap that sent most of the NASA Glenn Research Center to Brook Park. ==History== It was built in 1942 as a General Motors-operated factory and was used to build bombers during World War II as the Cleveland Bomber Plant. For a time, it built the wing assembly for the B-29 Superfortress, then the experimental XP-75.〔 It later served for many years as a tank factory.〔 The M41 Walker Bulldog, M56 Scorpion, M114, the MOG Howitzer, and the M551 Sheridan were built at the facility.〔 Former employees of the tank plant reported that there were at least two, maybe three basement levels, of course now they are classified. One basement had a large pool in it for testing water-tightness of production tanks. Current security personnel agree there is more than the one basement level to the building, but will not confirm exactly how many. It was vacant from 1970 to 1977, when it was purchased by Park Corp. with the intention of converting it into an exhibition hall. It re-opened in 1985 as the I-X Center. The Park Corp. sold the building to the City of Cleveland in 2001, but continues to lease and operate it.〔 In 1990, the I-X Center was used as a temporary home for North Olmsted High School. On September 16, 1990, two students had set fire to the front of the high school, causing significant damage. A 2008 expansion added of exhibition space, increasing the exhibition floor to . The entire ceiling was repainted for the first time since 1984, using 27,000 gallons of paint.〔 On May 3-4, 2014, the IX Center hosted the first ever Pro Football Hall of Fame Fan Fest, which featured appearances by 100 NFL Hall of Famers including Jim Brown, Joe Namath, Barry Sanders, Lynn Swann, Marshall Faulk, Franco Harris, Warren Sapp and Terry Bradshaw. The successful campaign to bring the event to the IX Center was spearheaded by Cleveland native Tony Gumina. 〔http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2014/05/tony_gumina_who_made_pro_footb.html〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「I-X Center」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|