—Heather Back, Metro visitor venues communications and policy
Oregon Convention Center and Portland Expo Center making sites available for uses supporting COVID-19 vaccination super sites.
The global pandemic brought an immediate closure to large-scale venues resulting in economic impacts at a scale never seen in our lifetime. When events can safely resume, jobs return too. Until then, the Oregon Convention Center and Portland Expo Center are focused on offering what our health care providers need to ensure safe vaccination of every Oregonian.
“Saying it’s a difficult year for OCC and Expo is an understatement. We lost hundreds of colleagues in layoffs. It’s particularly meaningful to be a part of making reopening a reality. The path to reopening is through vaccines and it means so much to be a part of that,” stated Marissa Madrigal, Metro's chief operating officer.
Metro’s visitor venues – Oregon Convention Center, Oregon Zoo, Portland Expo Center and Portland’5 Centers for the Arts – build strong connections to the arts, foster empathy and compassion for wildlife, inspire innovation, and drive commerce. These venues attract significant economic activity to greater Portland and the state, much of it from outside Oregon. This economic activity generates substantial state and local tax revenues.
When we are past the threat of the pandemic, the travel and tourism industry will be integral to our nation’s economic and social recovery. We know that the experiences that bring our communities together will strengthen our collective bonds.
“Metro has been working hard to use our facilities for the public good since their closure due to COVID-19. Offering vaccinations at Metro facilities is another way we are here for the community,” said Council President Lynn Peterson.