Anchorage Daily News

The muted concrete exterior of Anchorage's new $111 million Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center hides some elegant surprises.

Panoramic views that stretch from the Cook Inlet shoreline to the Chugach mountain peaks.

A ballroom with entrances made of polished Alaska birch and shimmering walls made of roughly 18,000 swinging metal beads.

An outdoor terrace with elbow room for 900 partygoers.

City officials gave a "sneak peak" tour of the center to the media and other guests on Friday morning, a day ahead of the center's first money-making event: a rally for Gov. Sarah Palin's vice presidential campaign.

The visitors ogled as workers installed a $350,000 illuminated artwork that now dangles 100 feet from the ceiling in the building's entry.

The artwork is made out of yellow, translucent figurines of Cook Inlet region animals -- from belugas and salmon to mountain-dwelling picas and bears.

Before installing them, workers allowed the visitors to touch the animals.

"I held a fish and a whale and it gave me a great feeling," said Terry Abarro, the executive director of the Association of Seafood Processors, International.

Having grown up in Los Angeles, Abarro is used to big buildings. Yet she was still impressed. "I love the view. The color coordination is just awesome."

Mayor Mark Begich said the convention center was finished on time without exceeding its budget. He gave credit to the city's partnership with private companies that designed the building and the Anchorage visitors' bureau, which will manage its operations.

The center is being paid for with one-third of the city's 12 percent hotel-room tax.

NATIVE INFLUENCE

Each meeting area inside the convention center is tagged with an Athabascan Native name.

The Idlughet (ee-DLOW-ghut) Exhibit Hall, for example.

At 50,000 square feet, the hall is almost as big as a football field and it can seat about 5,000 people.

It's so big a semi-truck trailer can drive inside. One actually did pull inside the building to unload boxes on Friday morning.

As many as 5,000 people are expected to flock inside the exhibit hall today.

The center's name -- Dena'ina -- refers to the Athabascan people who first settled the Upper Cook Inlet basin area some 1,500 years ago.

PALIN EVENT

The McCain-Palin campaign is scheduled to host Palin's vice presidential rally in the hall this morning. On Friday afternoon, painters, cleaners and other workers were in a hurry to get the big room ready.

The event was scheduled only a couple of days ago, and other big venues, like the Sullivan Arena, were already booked.

"It goes to show that this is a needed facility," said Con Jager, the convention center's director of sales and marketing.

TRIVIA

Here are some other details on the building:

• Location: a square block fronting Seventh Avenue, between the Conoco Phillips and the Atwood buildings

• Total square footage: 215,000. That's more than twice the amount of space at the Egan Center.

• Rental rates: from $299 for a half-day session in one meeting room to $12,500 for a full day in the exhibit hall.

• Estimated economic impact: more than 1,900 jobs and $133 million in annual spending, generated by new, bigger events.

• A free public opening celebration: Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Oct. 19 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Find Elizabeth Bluemink online at adn.com/contact/ebluemink.

Conventions scheduled

National conventions that have been scheduled include:

2009 -- National Association of Postmasters of the United States: 1,500 delegates

2010 -- National Defense Transportation Association: 1,200 delegates

2011 -- USA Canada Lions Leadership Forum: 3,200 delegates

2011 -- IEE Systems, Man & Cybernetics Conference, 800 delegates

2012 -- American Astronomical Society: 1,100 delegates

Total estimated economic impact of these events: $9.5 million

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