Hospitality officials had a busy day in the Cedar Valley on Monday (Dec. 3, 2018).

In Cedar Falls, construction got underway on a new convention and event center that officials hope will draw visitors to the city.
Members of the Cedar Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau, Mayor Jim Brown and other dignitaries gathered for a ground-breaking at the Hilton Garden Inn. The hotel is renovating and expanding existing space to create a 14,000-square-foot facility that will serve as many as 700 people.

The new Cedar Falls Convention and Event Center is being built at 7213 Nordic Drive, on the southern edge of the city. The facility is expected to open in summer 2019.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Waterloo, a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house was held to mark an image change for the Waterloo Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Moving forward, the agency that promotes and markets tourism in the community will use the branding name "Experience Waterloo".

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