The old Global Center may never have lived up to expectations, but the $51 million expansion of the Huntington Convention Center has already justified itself by creating a space not currently available in any other city in the world.
"Now, after the transformation, it is not only a beautiful space that impresses clients, but also much more that we simply needed," said David Gilbert, President and CEO of Destination Cleveland.
"We felt a lack of meeting space. And the fact that we could expand the facility without building an entirely new structure, and make it so beautiful, will definitely ease our work," he said.
Although Cleveland’s main convention center is only 11 years old, according to Huntington Convention Center CEO Ron King, the landscape of the conference center has already changed.
"When we undertook this project, we very much wanted to create a new level for the convention center, its new iteration," said Ron King.
The expansion of the building to the west side, towards Ontario, doubled the banquet hall on the first floor, allowing the creation of a massive open entertainment terrace above it, which provides connectivity with downtown Cleveland. Additionally, former offices were transformed into unique conference rooms with soft furnishings, billiard tables, LED lighting, and other features sought by conference organizers. At the same time, the project did something else: it gave the convention center what it lacked—a signature entrance.
According to the convention center, 63 upcoming events had already been booked before the space was completed.
