Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

TD Center becomes Greenville Convention Center

Ross Norton //October 3, 2018//

TD Center becomes Greenville Convention Center

Ross Norton //October 3, 2018//

Listen to this article

The city of Greenville announced a new name for its convention center — one that will not change at the end of a contract. What has been known for most of the decade as the TD Center will be called the Greenville Convention Center, effective immediately.

The TD Center name officially expired Jan. 31 but remained on the building since then as the city searched for a new sponsor.

Mayor Knox White said placing the city’s name on one of the state’s largest venues is another opportunity to build the town’s brand.

“As we looked at the reach and impact that this facility has as a draw for major events such as the 2018 Bassmaster Classic, as a favorite site for national political rallies and host to many of our communities’ international corporations, we decided that our focus needs to be on supporting the Greenville brand,” White said in a news release before the announcement Wednesday.

He pointed to a large conference hosted by of Synnex Corporation as an example of Greenville as a destination. Announcement of the new name coincides with the start of Synnex Corporation’s annual Inspire Conference, which brings about 1,700 attendees from some of the largest technology companies in the world to Greenville, according to the news release. The company has hosted its annual conference in Greenville, its U.S. headquarters, at the convention center for the last nine years.

“Our customers and vendors travel the world, and the feedback that we continue to get is that they love coming to Greenville,” said Bob Stegner, senior vice president, Marketing North America, Synnex Corporation. “We think this is a great move for the city and better positions Greenville as an ideal location for corporate meetings.”

“As a local corporation, we want to support the city’s continuing investment in the convention center as well as the value and importance that it places on attracting out-of-market visitors and business,” Stegner said in the news release.

The city recently invested approximately $2 million for a facelift of the meeting room complex and to improve the parking lots. An additional $1.35 million is budgeted for further capital improvements over the next 12 months, according to the news release.

When TD Bank purchased Carolina First Bank in 2011, it also took over sponsorship of what was then known as Carolina First Convention Center, according to convention center General Manager John Wilusz.

David Lominack, South Carolina market president of TD Bank, said his organization intends to support the Greenville community in other ways through continued sponsorships.

“We were proud to have been a sponsor and we continue to maintain our relationship with the city of Greenville through other marketing sponsorships, through our support of community programs, and through our corporate campus on I-85 and our stores in the city," he said in a written statement to GSA Business Report last summer.

First known as Textile Hall, the convention center was privately owned and located downtown before moving to its current location in 1964 when it became known as New Textile Hall, Wilusz said. It was called Palmetto Expo Center before gaining the sponsorship of Carolina First Bank in 2007.

 

n