Orange County Moves Forward with Convention Center Upgrades

Plans are in the works for $605 million in capital improvements at the Orange County Convention Center that are designed to allow Central Florida to compete for additional events. The funding has been approved by the Orange County Commission. Work will be on the North-South Building and will include: a Convention Way grand concourse, an enclosed connection between the North and South concourses that includes additional meeting space and an 80,000-square-foot ballroom with a grand entrance to the North-South Building along Convention Way; and a multipurpose venue, a 200,000-square-foot flexible column-free space with a combination of retractable and floor seating to accommodate 18,000 to 20,000 guests. This project will incorporate connectivity between the North and South concourses and will add to the convention center’s 7 million square feet of space. “We spent the last two years talking with clients and evaluating our own campus to find the best projects that will help us maintain our spot as the No. 1 meeting destination in the country,” said Jessie Allen, the center’s interim executive director. “Securing the funding will enable us to ramp up for an exciting time of development and growth at the Center of Hospitality.”