Paul Casey, president of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, told legislators last week that the HVCB also has another 30 tentative bookings for the center, which is due to open in mid-1998.

New confirmed bookings include three trade shows by Great West Expo, each expected to attract 4,000 buyers and sellers from the Asia-Pacific region. They are set for September 1998, January 1999 and September 1999. The fourth convention is a meeting of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, to attract 3,200 conventioneers in May 2002.

A festive grand opening of the nine-acre center is planned for June 11, 1998, to coincide with next year's Kamehameha Day.

Construction is on schedule and set for completion in November, according to the Convention Center Authority, the state agency responsible for oversight.

The CCA says the center and its management team, under Spectacor Management Group, will need the months between the end of construction and the official opening to train staff and make sure everything is working properly.