Owensboro's new convention center is three months away from opening.
The nearly 40-million-dollar facility overlooks the Ohio River on the site of the old Executive Inn and is expected to be an economic engine for the downtown.
Convention Center Manager Dennis Dean says the first customers are booked.
"Our first event is January 29 and we're supposed to have the building on January 27, so it's going to be very fast as we approach these final days of getting everything done."
Dennis says about 75 events are already booked for 2014 and he expects that many more will be added once the convention center is open.
The 45,000 square foot exhibition space will be the largest in western Kentucky or Evansville.
