Vision

THE FUTURE OF

NEW ORLEANS MEETINGS

In 2018, the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority (“the Authority”) adopted a $557 million five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) that includes renovations of the 33-year old New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (“Center”), as well as lays the foundation for development of new facilities that include a Convention Center Headquarter Hotel with a physical connection to the Center.

The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), has already begun to transform the facility, exceeding the expectations of current and future users and supports the destination in being more competitive. Over $100 million of the CIP has been completed and conceptual renderings show unique “immersive interventions” under consideration, including the addition of a third level with flexible, multi-purpose spaces that has a dramatic view of the Mississippi River. Designs for the renovations to the Convention Center’s 140 meeting rooms and public spaces, all of which are intended to celebrate elements of New Orleans’s iconic culture, are complete and AECOM Broadmoor-Hunt is under contract as the construction company.

OUR VISION TO CREATE

PROGRESS THAT MATTERS

In June 2021, the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority selected AECOM Hunt/Broadmoor, a joint venture between a global infrastructure consulting firm and New Orleans- based construction company, as its Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) for the final planning, development and construction of the major upgrades remaining for the $557 million CIP approved in 2018. Since that time, the Center has worked with Populous, a global architectural design firm specializing in creating environments & venues that draw communities and people together, and New Orleans-based architect Nano LLC, to develop designs for these projects, with input from the Center’s Client Advisory Council.

Recently completed major capital improvement projects initiated by the Authority include development of a $65 million, 7.5 acre pedestrian park that spans the length of the Center along Convention Center Boulevard, creating a safer and more diverse experience for both visitors and residents. The pedestrian park project scope includes the Transportation Center connected to the Center via a covered walkway as well as outdoor entertainment spaces, seating areas, public art and a water feature.

The convention center of the future is for people….the community around it. It looks like an enabled living lab of technology for the convergence and sharing of culture, thought, insights – all in the name of human flourishing...It looks like New Orleans acts.

John Picard, Populous Visioning Session 2020

In 2021, the CIP delivered the renovation of all thirty-five sets of the facility’s restrooms, installation of New Orleans neighborhood-themed charging stations, the upgrade to all new energy efficient LED exhibit hall lighting, internal infrastructure improvements such as an informational technology overhaul, and physical plant renovations including four new chillers, two new cooling towers, 6 boilers, and a new systems monitoring station.

The Convention Center began a $40 million roof replacement project in the Summer of 2023, and is continuing work on internal renovations to the facility’s lobbies and meeting rooms.