SMX Convention Center, the largest privately owned convention and exhibition center in the Philippines, will open its first convention center in the Visayas on October 16 at the third level of SM City Bacolod during the highlight of the MassKara Festival.

JB Ongsingco, SMX Convention Center Bacolod branch manager, yesterday said October 16 will just be a soft opening together with the grand opening of the mall expansion. The formal opening of the convention center will be sometime in November.

This will be their fourth convention center and it will be open to the public on Oct. 16, he said.

Ongsingco said the ground floor will be occupied by tenants of the mall, while the SMX Convention Center will occupy the third level.

They will have the MassKara City event from Oct. 17 to 19 , which is a first of its kind, and it is more of an announcement that Bacolod City is now back into the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions) business, he said.

They have been receiving a lot of inquiries already from local and national companies, Ongsingco said.

May Castro, SM City Bacolod Public Relations Manager, said the ground floor of the mall expansion will house global brands and big restaurants, while the second floor will house the new food court and the new cyberzone, as well as national and local brands.

SMX Bacolod will be the premier exhibition and convention center in the region and will boast of modern meeting facilities and services of international standards. It offers 8,218 square meters of event space, with a pre-function lobby, six meeting rooms, and three function rooms that can accommodate up to 4,500 people, a press release from the company said.

Strategically located at the third level of SM City Bacolod, it will be the ideal venue to support the Philippines’ fast growing MICE industry.

Ongsingco said, aside from conventions, they could also accept social events like weddings debuts, birthdays and even christenings.

They also have the SMX Manila at the Mall of Asia, SMX Taguig and SMX Davao, he said.*CGS