Following a $456M expansion of the Baird Center in Milwaukee, WI, city and county officials recently celebrated the grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Photo courtesy of Turner PR

Cities across the country are showing their commitment to the meetings and conventions industry with a host of convention center expansions and renovations. Some of those upgrades are based on demand in smaller cities that are growing in popularity with meeting groups, while some renovations are geared toward keeping up with attendee preferences.

According to Dan Hoffend, executive vice president of convention centers of venue and event management company ASM Global, convention centers must evolve to meet the diverse needs of today’s multi-generational attendees.

“Next-gen event goers crave personalized, immersive experiences that entertain and inspire but business and connections are still key to impactful events, and the insurance and financial industries are no exception. Our role is to evolve with the market and create the best-in-class settings to foster engagement and delight across all age groups.”

One of the most extensive expansions to debut this year is the Baird Center in Milwaukee, which is in the spotlight as it prepares to host this July’s Republican National Convention. The Baird Center doubled the convention center footprint to 1.3 million sf. The $456 million update added 24 new meeting rooms, six new loading docks, and brought the size of the exhibition space to 300,000 contiguous sf. There is also a new 32,000-sf rooftop ballroom wraparound rooftop terrace overlooking the Wisconsin Center District.

“The expansion allows for larger events than Baird Center was able to accommodate in the past. But the real benefit to groups wanting to hold events here is that we can now book simultaneous and overlapping events,” says Marty Brooks, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Center District.

“We were turning away as many events as we were booking,” Brooks says. “It also means a greater economic impact to local hotels, restaurants and small businesses. The expansion is projected to bring in 100,000 additional out of state visitors each year. That is going to result in billions of dollars being added to our local economy over the next several decades.”

Baird Center also offers sustainable features including a solar roof, recycled steel and bird-friendly fritted glass, as it pursues LEED Silver certification for the expansion.

Austin

Austin is planning a complete convention center redo to keep up with demand, as the 11th largest city in the U.S. has the 60th largest convention center.

“The current convention center suffers from a lack of meeting space and adequate exhibit hall and ballroom space compared to its peers,” says Trisha Tatro, director, Austin Convention Center Department. “Presently, the center must reject nearly half of its business leads due to space limitations and availability constraints. Our strategy will nearly double the available rentable space while guaranteeing adaptability to market dynamics and responsiveness to customer needs.”

The current convention center is scheduled to close in April 2025 after SXSW — South by Southwest, an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, TX.

Demo and construction are estimated to take 40 months with a grand opening in 2029. The estimated project cost for the Austin Convention Center redevelopment and expansion is $1.6 billion.

With a bigger convention center, the economic impact to Austin is estimated to jump to over $750 million annually, from the current $468 million.

“We are already collaborating with clients to ensure that mid-year 2029 and beyond, will be our most successful yet,” says Paul Barnes, deputy director, COO, Austin Convention Center Department.

In the interim, there are hotels working together to form “collections” grouping properties that are close together to attract meetings business. One that has been active since 2017 near the University of Texas is the University Collection, which includes AT&T Hotel and Conference Center’s 85,000 sf of event space and 297 hotel rooms, plus more than 800 hotel rooms within the collection.

Josh Delgado, AT&T Hotel’s director of sales & marketing, says “We’re unique in the sense that we have a lot of breakout rooms. We are what I call turnkey luxury.”

Along with the University Collection, there is also the Red River Collection and Second Street Collection, and there are a few others in the works. Creating these “collections” or “campus-style” packages is one of the many strategies Visit Austin has proposed to our hotels and larger Austin hospitality community as a way to help mitigate the loss of room nights due to the closure of the convention center.

Fort Worth

Fort Worth is also working on an expansion of its convention center. Phase 1 of the project, under construction now, will deliver new food and beverage facilities, increase the center’s loading docks from seven to 11, create a grand atrium southeast entrance and realign Commerce Street to create a site pad for a future convention hotel. This $95 million phase is expected to be completed in early 2026.

Phase 2 will demolish a 1968 arena, add more docks and a flexible ballroom, meeting and exhibit space. Funding of approximately $606 million will come from a voter-approved 2% increase in the city’s hotel occupancy tax. Construction is expected to begin in late 2026 and be completed by late 2029.

“With the increase in meeting room space, we aim to attract more national and international conference groups in any industry but targeting the biomedical, financial, technology and mobility sectors,” says Cynthia Serrano, general manager of the Fort Worth Convention Center.

The 618-room Omni Fort Worth Hotel, across from the convention center, also is working on a more than $200 million expansion, which will add 400 guest rooms and 50,000 sf of new meeting space. The project is anticipated to open in 2026.

Fort Worth-based Nation’s Best Sports (NBS) hosts its semi-annual markets for 2,500 – 2,800 attendees and its specialty markets for 550 – 660 at the center.

“We have a great relationship with the Fort Worth Convention Center personnel. From sales to event planning, customer service is above par. The planning experience is seamless,” says Angela Mooney, corporate secretary and vice president of administration.

Though NBS is contracted with the center through 2025, they will have to host its semi-annual markets elsewhere until the expansion is complete, according to Mooney.

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is working on its sixth expansion of the Indiana Convention Center (ICC). The project will include the addition of about 143,500 sf of usable space including a 50,000-sf ballroom. When completed in the second half of 2026, the total exhibit hall, ballroom, meeting room and pre-function space at Indianapolis’s convention center and Lucas Oil Stadium complex will be more than 1.2 million sf.

ICC will house one of the top 10 convention center ballrooms by size in the U.S. and allow the option to host two citywide conventions at one time. A skywalk over Capitol Avenue will connect the expansion to the existing convention center without disrupting the existing convention center space.

Under construction is also an 800-room Signia Hilton that will be connected to the convention facility by a climate-controlled skywalk, bringing the number of hotel rooms with direct access to the center up to 5,520.

“By diversifying and expanding our convention package, Indy becomes more marketable to business, leisure and group travelers,” says Chris Gahl, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Visit Indy. “The announcement of this project resulted in new customers booking Indy for 2026 and beyond.”

Bryan Wood, chief learning and events officer, Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), will be hosting in June 2025 their Hospitality Technology Industry Exhibition and Conference, otherwise known as HITEC, with an expected draw of 6,000 attendees.

“The local hospitality community that surrounds the convention center, with ease of access to the numerous hotel options and brand availability, makes it a great location for planners,” Wood says. “The compactness of the exhibit halls in relation to the meetings rooms makes it easy for attendee flow.” He says the upcoming expansion makes Indy an even more attractive as a convention market opportunity.

New Orleans

The Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center has been undergoing a $557 million upgrade for several years.

“Back in 2018, a $557 million Capital Improvement Plan was approved to move our Convention Center out of the 1980s and into the modern meeting era,” says Michael Sawaya, president and general manager of the convention center.

Projects recently completed or currently underway include a $40 million roof replacement. The new 40-acre “cool roof” reflects heat, which will increase energy savings.

The upgrades also include a $65 million, 7.5-acre pedestrian park and transportation center with dedicated walkways, outdoor seating, landscaping and centralized access for buses, shuttles, taxis and ride shares. Other updates include modernized public spaces with charging stations and renovations to its 140 meeting rooms and public gathering spaces.

“Planners are responding to the demands from attendees for their experience to be more ‘experiential,’ which is why we are incorporating more of those options in our convention center,” Sawaya says.

Just announced in May, the convention center’s governing board plans to buy a property directly across the street and partner with Omni Hotels & Resorts to build New Orleans’ first headquarters hotel. “The headquarters hotel will have up to 1,000 hotel rooms and 100,000 sf of venue space, greatly improving our hosting ability and attracting a brand-new audience to our city,” Sawaya says.

Orlando

In 2019, the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) in Orlando embarked upon a Capital Improvement Plan of the North-South Building for two Campus Master Plan projects, titled Phase 5A and Phase 5B. When completed, both phases will provide a grand total of 1.15 million sf of exhibit space in the North-South Building, bringing total exhibit space at the OCCC to 2.3 million sf.

In 2023, $560 million was approved for Phase 5A completion, which consists of a Convention Way Grand Concourse that will include an additional 60,000 sf of meeting space and an 80,000-sf ballroom.

Once approved, Phase 5B would bring an additional 200,000 sf of contiguous exhibit space to the building, while also incorporating connectivity between the North and South Concourses.

Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County

Following the 2021 expansion of the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Conventions Center with a 350,000-sf exhibit hall and two ballrooms, Phase 2 is underway with completion slated for late 2025. This phase includes a new East building featuring a 65,000-sf waterfront ballroom, a new ballroom, multiple breakout rooms and foyers.

The new 801 room Omni Fort Lauderdale headquarters hotel, which will connect to the existing west convention center and a six-acre waterfront plaza are also in the works. “Once completed our total space will be 1.2 million, double our original footprint,” according to Mike Pouey, VP, Business Development & Sales Operations for Visit Lauderdale.

“The expanded expo space technically puts us in the ‘mega’ convention centers category (350 – 999K) so we can now host tradeshows requiring 2,000 exhibits or massive sporting events,” Pouey says. “On the other hand, with the new two-building dynamic (east and west) we will be able to operate two large events simultaneously without any interference of attendees.”

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The expansion is aiming for LEED Gold certification. “This project is a flagship accomplishment for Broward County,” Pouey says. “By expanding our space we will attract larger events, filling up more hotel rooms, driving more revenue spend to our local businesses and provide additional jobs for our residents.”

Miami Beach

The all-new Coastal Convention Center at Fontainebleau Miami Beach is slated to open this fall. It spans five floors and 45,000 sf, including a 16,500-sf divisible grand ballroom with an outdoor terrace, a 9,500-sf junior ballroom and 15 meeting rooms.

“Fontainebleau Miami Beach already has around 200,000 sf of meeting space, so the addition of the Coastal Convention Center allows the hotel to host even larger groups and provide a smooth experience when multiple groups are in-house,” says Phil Goldfarb, president and COO, Fontainebleau Miami Beach.

Jessica Baran, vice president of sales, catering, and revenue, Fontainebleau Miami Beach, adds, “We are looking forward to hosting corporate, high-end associations seeking a sophisticated, state-of-the-art modern facility that will give the group exclusivity to the entire space. We also want to target the incentive market where a group can host their celebrations and meals in one location while enjoying the amenities only a property our size can offer: 12 restaurants and lounges, a 40,000-sf Lapis Spa, adjacent marina, and an oceanfront location to name a few.”

Cleveland

An expansion to Cleveland’s LEED Gold Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, part of a $49 million investment, is underway.

“We’ve added about 100,000 sf of total space, which is going to completely change what we can do for the city,” says Travis Poppell, director of sales and marketing for the convention center.

The upgrades, which will also be made to the center’s more than 25 meeting rooms, will add 17 new breakout rooms for a total of 60, and will boost its event space from 475,000 sf to about 553,000 sf. There will be an expanded ballroom, a second-floor terrace with views of downtown, plus new staircases and escalators to accommodate more people. The updates are expected to be completed this summer, in time for the city to host some 5,000 attendees at the American Society of Association Executives’ (ASAE) Annual Meeting & Exposition.

Deborah Borak, vice president/team director, ConferenceDirect, books groups at the convention center. “The Huntington Convention Center is one of the easiest centers to work with, specifically because of their in-house AV provider and the fact that the center is one of the most technologically advanced convention centers in the world. When I work with this center, I don’t have to worry that there will be surprises in pricing and service as they execute events seamlessly.”

She is looking forward to the renovations, which will make it more functional. “It is nice to see the city repurpose space and add things that are important to conference planners, such as the new ballroom, special suites for meetings or entertaining and the most exciting addition, the rooftop terrace,” Borak says.  “It will be the perfect spot for meals and receptions. Many clients want a different or unique space for their special events. Having the terrace will provide another option for groups and save them money on transportation to off-site venues. I believe it will set Cleveland apart from their competitors.”

Cincinnati

Downtown Cincinnati will undergo a $700 million transformation with the development of a Convention District, which will be a reimagined Duke Energy Convention Center connected to a new headquarters hotel.

The upgraded center will house an additional 12,000 sf of modernized exhibit hall space, upgraded meeting and ballrooms, an expansive rooftop terrace, as well as major improvements to building systems and technology making it much more energy efficient.

The development will extend outdoors to create a two-acre park and outdoor convention area for events. The project is expected to cost $240 million and is expected to take about 18 months to complete.

St. Louis

St. Louis is revamping its convention center complex. Dubbed AC Next Gen, a $256 million expansion and facelift are underway at the America’s Center Convention Complex, with the first phase scheduled to be completed this year.

“The plans for AC Next Gen include a new 72,000-sf exhibit hall, new entrance on Martin Luther King Boulevard and enhancement of the Washington Avenue entrance,” says Brian Hall, Explore St. Louis’ chief marketing officer.

“The update will offer more than twice the number of loading docks for access to the exhibit space,” Hall adds. “In addition, the docks will be enclosed, making access easier for exhibitors, and improving the streetscape for the neighborhood.”

The plans also include turning what is now a parking lot into a large green space for outdoor events. “The project includes the creation of a food garden with around 40 raised beds that will supply our kitchens and allow us to share any unused produce with food pantries in the region,” Hall says.

Las Vegas

Following the Las Vegas Convention Center’s (LVCC) $1 billion West Hall expansion in 2021, a $600 million renovation of the facility’s legacy campus was launched in 2023 to extend the West Hall’s contemporary design, architecture and customer experience to the legacy campus.

Construction work is now complete on the South Hall, and it will continue in the Central and North halls through 2025.

“Most of our insurance and financial planners prefer the integrated resort concept and therefore tend to use properties in our destination as opposed to the convention center,” says Lisa Messina, chief sales officer for the Las Vegas Convention Center. “However, we are excited to welcome new customers on the horizon, such as Money 20/20, where the size and event design of the Las Vegas Convention Center made it the best fit for their organization’s vision.”

The focus on improving the convention districts and centers for a better attendee experience and expanded options for planners is a growing trend that reflects the strength of the meetings and convention industry.  I&FMM.