CHICAGO — New Orleans is positioning itself as a top destination for business events with a plethora of improvements, renovations and development happening in and around the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) and the city.
“There’s no other place like New Orleans,” said Walter J. Leger III, President and CEO of New Orleans & Company. “People need to feel welcome and feel safe to be their authentic selves when they’re in our community. We’ve always been that place; people know a city like New Orleans is very open and welcoming. Part of the charm is people feel free to be whoever they are when they’re in our city, and we think it’s important that the meetings industry continues to be a place where people come together. We like to say that New Orleans is ‘Built to Host’ in part because of our unique brand of hospitality.”
And coming together in New Orleans means sharing in its diverse culture, being part of a sustainable future and enjoying all the city’s growing offerings and developments for event organizers and attendees.
The NOENMCC’s Renovation Champions Sustainability
The NOENMCC embarked on its $557 million improvement plan, which includes renovations to the exterior and interior of the facility. With 1.1 million contiguous square feet of prime exhibit space, the convention center is the sixth largest in the U.S.
“Our customers have let us know what needs to be done to make the convention center more attractive and more competitive,” said Tim Hemphill, Chief Commerical Officer of the NOENMCC. “NOENMCC opened in 1985, and historically, we haven’t had the ‘creature comforts’ now found in modern facilities. So, we’ve built these social nooks in, added a lot of seating and are bringing in a lot of art. We also have a new digital signage infrastructure, both externally and internally.”
Since the plan launched in 2018, there has been significant investment — more than $20 million — in sustainability projects, like improved stormwater drainage and water bottle filling stations. It has also included electric vehicle charging stations, diverting waste more efficiently and focusing closely on energy consumption.
The facility has also updated its lighting system on the exhibit hall floor.
“It’s not something you’d normally see, but if you’re an exhibitor or exhibit manager, you know how important lighting is. We outfitted all our lighting systems with LED lights, and they’re all individually programmable,” Hemphill said.
The investment has paid off as the convention center achieved its first LEED Gold certification and became the largest convention center project to be certified under LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance.
Because of the prioritization of sustainability at the facility, the NOENMCC has measurement systems in place that show organizers can use to calculate their carbon footprint and environmental impact when hosting in New Orleans. As more organizers begin to strive toward net zero by 2050, in line with the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative, the built-in measuring tools at the NOENMCC increase its appeal.
“We’re the first convention center to get LEED Gold based on the new certification that really uses real metrics and numbers to achieve the LEED Gold certification,” Hemphill said. “Everything we did was measured over a year. So, we have the program in place that if you want to measure the trash diverted from the landfill, we can tell you exactly how much. All of those types of things that are increasingly important to exhibit managers are being built in.”
Developments in the City
The convention center isn’t the only development in the city, as nearly $1 billion in hotel renovations are completed, in the works or in planning stages.
“Four Seasons came online in August 2021, and Virgin Hotel came online around the same time,” Leger said. “Other really beautiful and unique boutique properties are also coming across the city, so there’s a lot of investment.”
This includes the $325 million that Caesars Entertainment is investing in the Harrah’s Hotel and Casino property, located just steps away from the famous French Quarter and less than a mile from the convention center. The project will see it transformed into the Caesars New Orleans, which will include Nobu Hotel New Orleans. The casino-resort is expected to open in 2024, with the addition of a 340-room tower.
Near the NOENMCC, a new River District community is being built from the ground up on 39 acres adjacent to the convention center. The neighborhood is expected to generate an economic impact of $1 billion in economic activity and $43 million off net new annual tax revenues.
The mixed-use community will feature bike paths and best-in-class sidewalks, while housing apartments and condominiums, hotels, restaurants, retail and entertainment, including a Top Golf.
“We have reasons to celebrate with new city milestones and honors,” Leger said. “For example, April 14th was Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport’s busiest day EVER with 27,972 total people screened through the checkpoint. French Quarter Fest 2024 welcomed a record 950,000 people. The Jazz & Heritage Festival had huge crowds for a long-anticipated May 2nd performance of the Rolling Stones. New Orleans ranked number four in the Top 25 Best Cities in the South, according to readers of Southern Living. The Woldenberg Riverfront Park ranked number two Best Riverwalk by USA Today’s 10Best List. And, the Windsor Court has been recognized as one of the Top 500 hotels in the world by Travel + Leisure.”
Sharing New Orleans’ Culture
New Orleans has a rich and diverse culture, and New Orleans & Company is making sure that event goers know they are all welcome in the city.
“The Everyone’s Welcome Here campaign is a reiteration of who we are as a city, and clearly our city has really been on the forefront of equal rights for a very long time, for all persons,” Leger said. “You can even look back to the early 90s where our city charter adopted language that was anti-discriminatory on the basis of transgender and LGBTQ+ designations at a time when no one was talking about that. The campaign is about inclusion, about talking and speaking to the values of our city and business community, but we’ve also built some components in that are educational so that our members can not only put a sticker in their window, but really engage in thinking and talking about what inclusion really looks like.
“However, the campaign goes far beyond stickers. There is a training program in place, so that businesses know exactly how to make inclusion a part of their day-to-day business and making guests feel welcome and respected. It sends an important message to visitors, whether they be here for leisure, convention customers and those making decisions on where special events will be held in a competitive marketplace that inclusion is a part of who we are and how we operate.”
There are also plenty of cultural attractions to see while in New Orleans, whether as an event attendee, business traveler or a casual visitor. Some new attractions include the opening of the Vue Orleans Observatory and JAM NOLA. The Audubon Aquarium of the Americas also reopened in the summer of 2023, showcasing its $40 million renovation and reimagining.
There has also been a $400 million expansion at the National World War II Expressions of America exhibit. The location of the National World War II Museum is intentional too, as the city is home to the Higgins boat, which served as the “landing craft that brought U.S. soldiers to shore in every major amphibious assault” of the war, according to the museum.
Reinforcing the city’s emphasis on sustainability as a waterfront destination, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana has an oyster shell recycling program, which has recycled more than 13 million pounds of oyster shells from the city’s restaurants to create 8,000 feet of reefs in the water. These reefs slow erosion and create habitats for new oysters to grow in.
Manufacturing and innovation are also growing in the city. NASA’s Michoud facility, located in New Orleans East, completed a 322-foot Space Launch System rocket that will be tasked with carrying the first woman and person of color to the Moon. There has also been a surge in the region’s clean energy sector.
Reach Tim Hemphill at themphill@mccno.com
Photo Credit: New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center/Mike Palumbo.
