CHICAGO — Trade Show Executive’s March 2024 Pardon Our Dust report details 14 convention centers undergoing construction, as well as 25 proposed development projects. Of those that have broken ground, an additional 1,058,125 square feet (sf) of prime exhibit space is on track to be built, with substantial additions in the meeting and flex space categories as well.
America’s Center in St. Louis will be the first major center to debut an expansion in 2024, as it will unveil its 72,000 sf prime exhibit space addition in April. The Baird Center in Milwaukee will increase its prime exhibit space to 300,000 sf, its meeting space to 111,500 sf and its flex space to 69,500 sf in May. Georgia’s Savannah Convention Center also has an expansion opening in May which will raise the available space at the facility to 200,000 sf of prime exhibit space, 114,000 sf of meeting space and 65,000 sf of flex space.
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The BMO Centre at Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta, will be wrapping up its construction in June, which will enlarge its floorplan to 350,000 sf of prime exhibit space, 80,000 sf of meeting space and 50,000 sf of flex space. Cleveland’s Huntington Convention Center is also scheduled to conclude work on its expansion in June, a construction project that will allow the venue to offer 151,000 sf of meeting space and 100,000 sf of flex space.
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Further ahead, 2025 profiles to be another active year for expansions. In Q1, Ohio’s Dayton Convention Center will finish developing new meeting and flex space. The Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center in Chula Vista, Calif. is a new build that is scheduled to open its doors during the summer months. Florida has two venue expansions scheduled to debut in 2025: the World Equestrian Center in Ocala during the summer and the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center in Q4. To conclude the year, the Las Vegas Convention Center will finalize its reconfigured floor plan in December. Projects at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and National Western Complex in Denver are also on the calendar for 2025 but have yet to establish precise opening dates.
Check out the full Pardon Our Dust report in the March issue of TSE Magazine.
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To submit a venue for consideration in TSE’s Pardon Our Dust report, email Carson Stoolmiller at carsons@tradeshowexecutive.com.
