Time Warner Cable News is getting a look inside the Capital Center in downtown Albany. Jon Dougherty was there for a tour Tuesday morning, and has a look at the project's progress.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- With less than five months until opening, the Albany Capital Center construction is on schedule.

Tuesday, officials with the Albany Capital Center said it's now 75 percent complete. Most of the outside work was completed and the focus is on the inside as it gets ready to open in March 2017.

"This facility will be ready to be open March 2, 2017," Albany Capital Center Authority Chairman Gavin Donohue said during a media tour Tuesday.

Before opening, a lot of still work needs to be done to complete the convention center.

"We're looking at 158,000 square feet of meeting room space to make Albany an attraction for big events, media venues and convention venues for the Capital Region," Donohue said.

The Albany Capital Center will feature meeting rooms, a kitchen and a 22,500 square foot ballroom, which can fit three basketball courts. It's expected to attract more than 150,000 visitors a year and generate $36 million in economic impact to the local economy.

A walkway will link it to the Empire State Plaza, the Egg and the Times Union Center, but the center's management said its reach will span the entire region.

"We're actually marketing this facility as a Capital Region venue so that people can go out and enjoy the assets within the Capital Region, not just in downtown Albany," said SMG Regional General Manager Bob Belber.

More than 30 events have already been booked for the first year and hundreds more are in the works. Now in the home stretch of construction, a project that never seemed would be reality is almost that.

"It's been 15 years in the works in a serious way, and sometimes it takes a long time to get something done that's beneficial," Donohue said.

The Albany Capital Center's first event will be the MAAC Basketball Championships fan-fest. The center is also the centerpiece in Albany's bid to host NCAA basketball tournament games in the future.