The Miami Beach Convention Center Is Bigger And Better Than Ever

Miami Beach Convention Center. Photo by Robin Hill

Miami’s popular events are back—and the Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) is ready to welcome them with a slew of enticing amenities, state-of-the-art technology, and brand new event spaces that immerse guests in Miami’s beautiful surroundings. Having completed a lavish three-year, $620-million-dollar reimagination in late 2018, today, the convention center stands as one of the most advanced venues of its kind in North America, with 1.4 million square feet of flexible event space (including the largest ballroom in South Florida), approximately 10 acres of open green space, a 10,000 square foot production kitchen, a curated art collection worth over $7.1 million and over 1,600 miles of technical cabling to support unparalleled IT communications. And despite those renovations, as COVID-19 forced event venues all over the world to temporarily close and the MBCC was turned into an alternate care facility, South Florida’s leading convention center took the opportunity to get even more ahead of the times by adding new services, expanding its event spaces and implementing changes that would better serve guests and event hosts in a post-pandemic world. Read below to find out what’s new at the Miami Beach Convention Center in 2022 and how, now, it’s bigger and better than ever.

The reimagined Miami Beach Convention Center resumes hosting global events that prove its ability to deliver large-scale events in a post-pandemic world

The MBCC hosts some of Miami’s largest and most talked-about international events. In February, for example, the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show, the largest boat and yacht event in the world, filled its exhibition hall with everything from kayaks and boat engine manufacturers to marine accessories, boating electronics, and even 49-foot boats. The event also activated the Progressive Boat Show Experience at Pride Park outside the Miami Beach Convention Center, showcasing a collection of experiential boating lifestyle activations, including various educational seminars and activity zones for the whole family. Focusing on events in the verticals of finance, tech, health and education, the MBCC hosted the first ViVE conference, a combination of health and tech in March. In April, the venue welcomed the world’s largest Bitcoin event, Bitcoin 2022, a four-day extravaganza that gathered the brightest minds and most successful Bitcoin experts. They also activated the City Center Campus’ 6-acre Pride Park and 3-acre Collins Canal for special events, including the Sound Money Fest – the world’s first Bitcoin Music Festival. Now, in July, Florida Supercon will once again bring together the best voice actors, celebrities and creators in anime, comics, and gaming, for thousands of eager fans. Every December, art enthusiasts from across the globe flock to the annual Art Basel Miami Beach to see and buy millions in art from the world’s top modern and contemporary galleries.

“The MBCC is proud to announce 57 definite events on the books to take place in 2022 to date, with many more in the sales pipeline,” states Freddie Peterson, general manager. “I’m particularly proud of how we were able to scale up operations quickly in 2022 and strengthen our relationships with our valued venue partners, contractors, clients, GMCVB and the local community. Truly an enormous effort by all the teams!”

An 800-room Grand Hyatt Miami Beach is slated to open on-site in 2025

In an effort to offer Miami Beach Convention Center visitors a full-service experience, the venue is excited to announce that it is poised to welcome a brand new Hyatt hotel, slated for November 2025. Designed by Arquitectonica, this invigorating 800-room hotel will have 52 suites, four floors of meeting spaces, and ballrooms that will complement the Convention Center, a signature restaurant and lobby lounge and bar, gym, a resort-style pool deck with panoramic views, and a members-only club lounge. Offering the best of luxury, location and convenience, this lifestyle property will connect directly to the convention center and put conference guests and event planners right in the heart of the City Center District. Adjacent to the Fillmore Theater (Live Nation) and across the street from the New World Center, the new hotel is also within easy walking distance of delectable fine dining and shopping on iconic Lincoln Road, the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, the stylish Art Deco surroundings and beautiful South Beach.

Miami Beach Convention Center is recognized for its enhanced health and safety efforts

In 2020, the Miami Beach Convention Center earned GBAC STAR™ Facility Accreditation from the Global Biorisk Advisory Council® for implementing processes and systems that minimize the risk of spreading disease. Furthering its commitment to the health and safety of all guests and employees, the venue exceeds Miami Beach’s “MB Standard” and requires all employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19 (exemptions apply). The MBCC is kept clean with EPA-registered disinfectants, touch-free surfaces in bathrooms, and high-efficiency air purification and filtration system. The MBCC leadership recognizes that a final, most important part of this initiative is open communication with anyone who interacts with the venue.

Expanded outdoor spaces offer unconventional experiences

One way the Miami Beach Convention Center has responded to the increased demand for open space venues is by creating welcoming outdoor event spaces that immerse guests in the city’s beautiful surroundings. Three such spaces are Pride Park—a six-acre green space immediately outside the MBCC, as well as the lush, three-acre Collins Canal Park and outdoor event space at the Carl Fisher Clubhouse, set to become the Rum Room + Venu, a new restaurant, and event space. Onsite, the MBCC has three outdoor terraces: one outside the Sunset Ballroom and two outside the Grand Ballroom, which has earned nods as the largest ballroom in all of South Florida.

Venue management company Spectra has merged with operations giant Oak View Group

The Miami Beach Convention Center is now under the management of OVG360 — a new facilities division of global venue development, advisory and investment company Oak View Group that debuted in early 2022 after OVG acquired Spectra in November 2021. OVG360 is a full-service venue management and hospitality company that helps client-partners reimagine the sports, live entertainment and convention industries for the betterment of the venue, employees, artists, athletes and surrounding communities. With a portfolio of more than 200 client partners spanning arenas, stadiums, convention centers, performing arts centers, cultural institutions and state fairs around the globe, OVG360 provides a set of services, resources and expertise designed to elevate every aspect of business that matters to venue operators. Service-oriented and driven by social responsibility, OVG360 helps facilities drive value through excellence and innovation in food services, booking and content development, sustainable operations, public health, public safety and more.

Guests of MBCC indulge sustainably in delicious food and beverage from Sodexo Live!

As a global sports, events and hospitality brand, Sodexo Live! (formerly Centerplate) has 15 celebrity chef partnerships around the world and operates multiple Michelin-starred restaurants, including the iconic Jules Verne restaurant at the Eiffel Tower. The organization is also the leading hospitality partner for the top convention centers in North America. Driven by its creative spirit and top culinary talent, the company brings a range of food and beverage options and outlets to the convention center, all carefully prepared and with a distinct homegrown flair that treats venue guests to the diverse flavors of Miami. With its entry back into the Miami Beach scene, the convention center is excited to soon debut a new dining and drinking outlet inside the historic 1916-built Carl Fisher Clubhouse, considered the oldest public structure in Miami Beach, and Sodexo Live! will help ensure the restaurant and event space are a success.

Guests who visit will fall in love with its hot new bar restaurant, The Rum Room, which will serve an enticing American cuisine with a Mediterranean influence and local South Florida rums in a 1920s setting. Poised to be a hotspot for locals as well as MBCC guests, this 2,200-square-foot destination is guaranteed to delight with thoughtful menus created by 20-year industry veteran and executive chef Ismael Lasalle. Part of the newly renovated complex, Venu, is a new 3,300 square-foot event space perfect for intimate gatherings, including, but not limited to wedding receptions, corporate functions and more.

As a company, Sodexo Live! is dedicated to making the world a better place, meaning dining at the Miami Beach Convention Center is about more than just good food. The local team gives back to the local community by donating tens of thousands of pounds of prepared but unused food annually to The Caring Place, Miami Rescue Mission and Food Rescue Miami to both help others and divert food waste from local landfills. Outside of that, it collects food scraps for composting, recycles cooking oils to prevent additional waste, and is a proud participant in the Plastic Free Miami Beach initiative, operating with zero single-use plastics and only serving items with compostable, reusable or recyclable cutlery, cups and dishware.

The MBCC’s efficient, state-of-the-art technology has turned the convention center into a leader in event digital communications

Technology is constantly evolving at the Miami Beach Convention Center to meet and exceed industry standards and, for show managers and conference guests, to enhance the event experience with the latest and greatest telecommunications tools. As part of the venue’s $620 million reimagination, Smart City Networks completed an extensive upgrade of its technology capabilities, with a 10-gigabit redundant circuit providing wireless internet connection to implementing faster network cabling speeds, built-in internet circuit redundancies, telephone services and so much more. These upgrades have earned the venue a reputation for having unparalleled connectivity, allowing it to meet the complex data and technology needs of the world’s most large-scale events.

Planned for 2022 is a complete, campus-wide installation of fiber connectivity from the MBCC to Pride Park with a permanent fiber patch panel located on the Southwest Corner of Pride Park, which will allow for a seamless wireless infrastructure for events utilizing indoor and outdoor venue space.

Everlast Productions is MBCC’s preferred AV partner, providing the latest in meeting technologies, competitive pricing and world-class service — on-site, on-time and on budget. With an in-house rigging contractor, they ensure that all rigging is carried out safely and efficiently. All rigging designs are reviewed and approved with proper load requirements. Everlast Productions builds relationships and delivers extraordinary experiences through technology and imagination. Everlast Production is South Florida’s largest audiovisual provider, working with the largest trade shows and expositions at the MBCC.

The Miami Beach Convention Center is located at 1901 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139. For more information, visit www.miamibeachconvention.com.