AUSTIN, Tex. — On April 1, 2025, the Austin Convention Center will close for four years as it undergoes a $1.6 billion redevelopment. The city will not be closed for meetings and trade shows as hotels and conference centers in the city are stepping in to help.
Austin has needed a new convention center for a long time, Tom Noonan, President and CEO of Visit Austin, said.
“Austin is the 11th largest city in the U.S., but currently, we have the 59th largest Convention Center. In the last few years, we’ve seen roughly 50% of our Convention Center leads lost due to the lack of space or availability, so we know the demand for a new center is there. This new center will allow us to be more competitive within the state and with our major national competitors,” Noonan said.
The current project timeline estimates that building closure, demolition and construction activities will begin next year with the new, larger facility reopening in 2029. The estimated project cost for the Austin Convention Center redevelopment and expansion is $1.6 billion.
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“To give the community, visitors and attendees the true authentic Austin experience, we want the new Austin Convention Center to be an iconic, innovative and symbolic meeting location,” Trisha Tatro, Director of the Austin Convention Center Department (ACCD) said. “Along with providing more rentable space, we want a signature design that will provide state-of-the-art technologies and be an industry-leading facility that is ready to exceed future clients’ needs.”
The new center is attracting the interest of groups that need additional space. “We know Austin would be a great destination for our conference. The planned new center, due to the significant increase in meeting space, would ensure a more successful experience for our attendees. We have been holding dates in Austin for 2032, and this is the news we’ve been waiting for. I believe this planned redevelopment will open the door for many more groups to consider Austin for their future conferences,” Kirsten Olean, CAE, CMP, Senior Director, Meeting Planning & Design of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and past Chair of PCMA, said.
Hotels throughout the city are joining together to accommodate groups when the center is closed. Some of these collaborations include the University Collection that includes the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center that is partnering with seven other hotels.
The Austin Red River collection includes the 1,048-room Fairmont Austin, 801-room Hilton Austin, and 319-room Hotel Van Zandt. That’s 2,168 hotel rooms and 245,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
Reach Tom Noonan at tnoonan@visitaustin.org; Trisha Tatro at trisha.tatro@austintexas.org; Kirsten Olean at kolean@cff.org
Trade Show Executive ranked the Austin Convention Center No. 61 in the U.S. by prime exhibit space in the 2024 World’s Top Convention Centers directory.
