Orlando's Orange County Convention Center is moving forward with a $605 million campus improvement plan. The project will bring expansions and new meeting and exhibit space in the North and South concourses, further increasing the center’s seven million square feet of total function space.
The expansion of the second largest convention center in the country includes the Convention Way Grand Concourse, an enclosed connection between the North and South concourses, which features additional meeting space and an 80,000-square-foot ballroom with a grand entrance to the North-South building along Convention Way. The 200,000-square-foot facility is a flexible, divisible, column-free space with a combination of retractable and floor seating to accommodate between 18,000-20,000 guests.
This project will also incorporate connectivity between the North and South concourses.
The center brings more than 200 conventions and events and hosts 1.4 million attendees each year.
“As a leading meeting and convention destination, Orlando is known for continually investing in the region’s growth, and this next phase of the Orange County Convention Center is another testament to our commitment to this industry,” said George Aguel, president & CEO of Visit Orlando. “The expansion at the center will create a wealth of new opportunities for groups of all sizes, and will serve as a catalyst for additional development throughout our convention district including new hotels, restaurants and entertainment options.”
This new growth comes on top of five years of previous growth at the center which enhanced walkability and connectivity between the convention center and surrounding convention district. There are now five pedestrian skybridges connecting more than 5,200 hotel rooms to the convention center. Within two miles of the convention center, attendees now have access to more than 75 restaurants and attractions.
Hotel Growth Continues Around the Orange County Convention Center District
- Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is constructing a 15-story tower to add more than 500 new rooms to the property, as well as new meeting space and a roof-top restaurant with a plan to renovate all existing rooms and suites.
- The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress has broken ground on 25,000-square-foot of flexible ballroom space. With its expansion, the resort will offer a total of 102,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space. The expansion is scheduled to be completed by fall 2019.
- Scheduled to open in early 2019, Margaritaville Resort Orlando will offer 40,000 square feet of technology-forward spaces perfect for meetings, conventions and corporate retreats.
- Universal’s new Aventura Hotel offers 600 guest rooms, rooftop dining and easy access to the nearby convention district and all three Universal Orlando Resort theme parks.
[Read more here: Universal Orlando Welcomes New Hotel]. - DoubleTree by Hilton at the Entrance to Universal has completed a $30 million renovation, refreshing the lobby, guest rooms and its 62,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
- The Caribe Royale All-Suite Hotel & Convention Center recently completed an $8 million renovation, and offers 150,000 square feet of flexible space.
- Following a $13 million redevelopment project, Embassy Suites by Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista Resort has an upscale, contemporary feel, complete with 10,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
- Having completed a significant expansion, DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld now has 100,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, including a new, 20,000-square-foot ballroom and outdoor event venue.
- With a $5 million renovation complete, Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek has a new, 3,500-square-foot ballroom, a 2,155-square-foot meeting room as well as a wraparound balcony and terrace overlooking the resort’s 10-acre lake.
- Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club recently unveiled 28,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 16,000-square-foot ballroom. [Read more here: Disney Resort Unveils New Meeting Space].
- The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort has completed a $140 million renovation project, including a redesign for all 2,267 guest rooms, a complete transformation of the Dolphin Resort lobby, and a makeover of the resort’s 332,000 square feet of meeting space.
Orlando’s hotel inventory is expanding every year, with more than 122,000 rooms—7,300 of which are within a 1-mile radius of the convention center—at over 450 hotels and resorts, including 150-plus meetings hotels.
“Attendees from around the country and the globe will appreciate how much growth Orlando has experienced in the past few years, and how thoughtfully it has grown in every arena,” Aguel said. “We know all of these new offerings will give planners and attendees another exciting reason to come back [to our destination]."
Information based off a news release from Visit Orlando.
