Dan Graveline’s vision turned Atlanta into a convention powerhouse, but his legacy runs deeper than buildings and events. He was a consensus builder, working across political and social lines, to make downtown healthy and a desirable location for business and pleasure.
As the first executive director of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, Graveline steered the transformation of the city’s convention scene. Doing that job and working as a volunteer, he oversaw the creation and multiple expansions of the World Congress Center, the Georgia Dome, and Centennial Olympic Park. He worked with the 1996 Summer Olympics. He was responsible for much of the infrastructure and the groundwork that made Atlanta a global destination for events and entertainment.
“Dan was a wonderful person, mentor, and an icon in the convention and trade show industry,” said Kevin Duvall, newly appointed as the World Congress Center’s third director in 50 years. “His visionary leadership and dedication leave an enduring impact on the state of Georgia and the city of Atlanta.”
Dan Anthony Graveline, 83, died Dec. 18 with his wife by his side. Funeral plans had not been announced as of Monday.
Graveline was appointed to lead the World Congress Center in 1976, a rare role that tasked him with running the state agency like a business.
Over the next three decades, Graveline’s consensus-building leadership navigated political challenges, economic downturns and the occasional crisis to establish Atlanta as a top-tier hub for conventions and sporting events. His efforts secured major events, including the Super Bowl, Final Four tournaments and SEC football championships.
“Dan was an icon in the hospitality and convention industries, not only in Atlanta, Georgia, but across the whole country,” said A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress. “He was able to convince lots of leaders in Georgia, primarily at the time, (state House) Speaker Tom Murphy, that Georgia needed to invest in the hospitality industry.”
Graveline’s approach to leadership was marked by his ability to unify stakeholders and turn ambitious visions into reality. Under his guidance, the Georgia World Congress Center expanded from a single building to a sprawling campus, with its success eventually bolstering the construction of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and a Hilton hotel and solidifying Atlanta’s walkable downtown as a premier destination.
In 2000, he helped pull off Super Bowl XXXIV, a sporting event that was forecast to pump about $250 million into the local economy. At the time, Graveline said that setting aside all the glad-handing and gala was simple economics.
“We’re in the import business,” he said. “We’re trying to import new dollars for Georgia.”
He was picked to play a key financing role on the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.
Frank Poe, Graveline’s successor, said he admired Graveline’s foresight and ability to galvanize support for major initiatives.
“But if he were with us today, he’d say it wasn’t one person who did it,” Poe said.
Determination and hard work seemed to have defined Graveline starting early in life. Raised in the Tennessee Valley area with five siblings, he worked his way through college on Merchant Marine ships on the Great Lakes. He also was a drill sergeant in the military reserves while working on his bachelor’s degree in business and his master’s degree in education, according to his family-placed obituary.
He launched his career in the hospitality industry, working as an assistant director at the Indiana Convention Center before moving on to the Los Angeles Convention Center and then to Atlanta.
Survivors include his wife, Susan Highsmith, and his daughter, Alex Graveline Miller (Lee).
In his memory, charitable donations may be made to the Mothers and Daughters Against Cancer Endowment for Music Therapy at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and to Kate’s Club.
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