CHICAGO — Trade Show Executive (TSE) tracks 53 convention centers throughout North America in the annual Large Convention Centers report. These are the facilities offering the highest amounts of prime exhibit square footage (sf) throughout the region, and they make up TSE’s top two convention center ranking tiers: the Millionaire’s Club (1,000,000+ sf of prime exhibit space) and Mega Convention Centers (350,000 sf to 999,999 sf of prime exhibit space). Twelve venues from this report are undergoing expansions, adding more capacity to their already broad footprints.
In the near future, Florida’s Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center will increase its flex space to 190,576 sf by October 2025. The Las Vegas Convention Center is also finalizing a renovation project, which will reconfigure its floorplan to feature 2,449,337 sf of prime exhibit space by December 2025. Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center is pursuing an expansion which currently falls in the design/site preparation phase with groundbreaking planned for December 2025. In Louisville, the Kentucky Exposition Center is growing its 1,100,000 sf of prime exhibit space to 1,380,000 sf via a construction project which will conclude by the end of 2026.
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Several projects feature timeframes extending beyond 2026. In Salt Lake City, the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center is in the design/site preparation phase, planning for groundbreaking in 2027. In Houston, the George R. Brown Convention Center is targeting a May 2028 date to debut its addition, which will boost the size of the center’s prime exhibit space to 975,000 sf and add 80,000 sf of flex space. In Q1 2029, the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas intends to wrap up its expansion to lift the prime exhibit space to 800,000 sf, the meeting space to 260,000 sf and the flex space to 170,000 sf. The center is continuing operations during construction, however parts of the building have been closed for development.
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The remaining expansions have yet to finalize timelines. The Los Angeles Convention Center and Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio are both working towards construction projects and are currently obtaining legislative and other approvals. The San Diego Convention Center is also looking to expand and is in the financing stage.
Read the full Large Convention Centers report in the August issue of TSE Magazine.
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To submit a venue for consideration in TSE’s Large Convention Centers report, email Carson Stoolmiller at carsons@tradeshowexecutive.com.
