Ben Seidel is a high-energy, fast-talking, intense, motorcycle-riding guy who is just weeks away from officially opening what is expected to be the biggest, boldest honkin’ thing that’s happened to Hartford in decades. One look at his nearly completed building and I can’t help but think “Ha! We’re getting a convention center, dammit.” Seidel’s excited. And working hard. And he’s got himself a team of super ambitious people who are working just as hard and can hardly sit still in anticipation of the June opening of the Connecticut Convention Center.

During a recent visit to their temporary offices on Columbus Boulevard, the sound of a bell punctuates the buzz, chatter and ringing phones. Everyone stops what they’re doing and gathers to celebrate the signing of an event contract. “When we book an event, we’re doing something for our city,” says Seidel, the facility’s executive director, who came to Hartford in 2001. “I don’t think people know what we’re doing, but they want us doing it. When that bell rings, it means hotel rooms got booked, cabs will be busy that day, restaurants can look forward to being busy, [traffic] has been increased at Bradley Airport. Most people don’t realize that every time a 747 lands at an airport, it’s worth about $100,000 to the local economy. So that’s why the bell rings. Nobody got the sale. It’s a team effort. We all want to share in that success.”

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