Metros are seeking far bigger convention center spaces

As people and businesses have become less anxious about traveling and crowds, major convention center construction, renovation, and expansion proposals and projects are in full swing across North America.

Also see: the 2023 Convention Center Giants ranking here, here, and here

The March 2024 edition of Trade Show Executive magazine reported on 14 convention centers with an aggregate 1,058,125 sf of exhibit space under construction, and another 25 proposed developments.

Austin, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, New Orleans, Dallas, San Antonio, Indianapolis, Savannah, Los Angeles, and Mobile are among the metros where convention center construction or renovation is in various stages of approval or development. In Milwaukee, the 673,000-sf, $456 million expansion of the Baird Center, designed by EUA and TVSdesign, is scheduled to be completed this month. Northstar Meetings Group reports that the new construction will bring Baird Center’s totals to 300,275 sf of exhibit space; 73,566 sf of breakout space; 52 meeting rooms, 24 of them new; two ballrooms: the existing 37,506-sf space and a new 32,000-sf rooftop ballroom that will have an 18,223-sf wraparound rooftop terrace with views of the district. The center’s final footprint will be 1.3 million sf.

Baird Center will host the Republican National Convention in mid July. Gilbane and C.D. Smith Construction managed the building of this expansion project.

The Baird Center expansion in Milwaukee will increase the convention center's total footprint to 1.3 million sf. Image credit: AP/Wisconsin Center District

Part of a downtown redevelopment

The city of Ontario, Calif., recently selected HMC Architects to lead the design team for the Ontario Convention Center Expansion Campus that will double the size and event capacity of the current building (which HMC designed nearly 30 years ago). The challenge is integrating a forward-looking addition while respecting the existing, 1990s-era architecture.

The project, which is scheduled for completion in 2027, will deliver 450,000 sf of indoor space, a 2,000-vehicle parking structure, onsite retail, and a pedestrian bridge over an adjacent boulevard. The new construction will also expand the convention center’s outdoor and event opportunities, according to HMC. Tilden-Coil Constructors is the general contractor hired for this project, and Greater Ontario California (GOCal) operates the facility.

The addition’s aviation-themed design links this project to Ontario’s international airport. And the construction will be phased to allow for the continuous operation of most of the existing convention center during the expansion.

The city of Ontario, which owns the convention center, has stated that the expansion is part of a broader plan to reactivate its downtown. That plan includes the construction of a City Services Building, and a new fire station.

The challenge of expanding the Ontario convention center will be integrating forward-looking and 1990s-era designs. Rendering: HMC Architects

A curved canopy marks Calgary convention center expansion

The striking curved canopy of the expanded BMO Centre in Cagary extends 170 ft into the facility's outdoor fair area. Renderings for BMO Centre: Calgary Municipal Land Corporation

On June 5, BMO Centre at Stampede Park within Calgary, Alberta’s, Culture + Entertainment District will debut its 585,000-sf, 500-million-Canadian-dollar expansion that was spearheaded by the community builder Calgary Municipal Land Corporation and The Calgary Stampede, a festival space famous for its annual 10-day rodeo. They worked on the BMO Centre expansion with the architectural design firms Populous, Stantec, and S2 Architecture.

The expansion increases BMO Centre’s total floor space to more than 1 million sf, and doubles the facility’s rentable area, making it the largest convention center in Western Canada. The design envisioned a minimal number of columns on the main level and fully columnless ballrooms on the top level. The expanded facility boasts three ballrooms totaling 70,000 sf, 38 meeting rooms, and more than 100,000 sf of new exhibition space. The facility’s ballrooms can now host 33,000 guests at one time.

BMO Centre's second-floor lobby features Canada's largest fireplace.

The expansion’s design is distinguished by a curved exterior canopy that spans 170 feet and touches down at the Spirit of Water, a 40,000-sf gathering place on the expanded building’s south side. The public art there was designed by UK-based artist Gerry Judah. A second-floor lobby for additional gathering space includes Canada’s largest fireplace and an 11,000-sf covered outdoor patio.

PCL Construction was the contractor on this three-story expansion. RJC Engineers and Magnusson Klemencic Associates provided structural engineering services in collaboration with the steel subcontractor Walters Group.