CLEVELAND — Officials say Cleveland's new $465 million convention center complex is going to open early.
The Plain Dealer newspaper reports that the downtown convention center is now scheduled to be completed June 1 and will open soon afterward. It was initially scheduled to open July 19.
Planners say the project will come in under budget, too.
The county and a Chicago developer are working on the 1 million-square-foot medical mart and convention complex. Taxpayers are financing the project with a quarter-cent sales tax imposed in 2007, plus a 1 percent tax on hotel rooms tacked on in 2010.
The convention center and related development, along with a new casino and aquarium, contributed to Forbes magazine this week recognizing Cleveland as having one of the nation's emerging downtowns.