The three-year, $3 billion transformation of Indianapolis’ meetings infrastructure is complete with the grand opening of the expanded Indiana Convention Center on January 20, 2011.
The $275 million expansion, built where the demolished RCA Dome once stood, adds about 255,000 square feet of exhibit space to the center, giving it a total of 566,600 square feet of exhibit space. Add another 183,000 square feet at nearby Lucas Oil Stadium, which opened in 2008, and the complex has a total of approximately 749,000 square feet of exhibition space. With the expansion, the Indiana Convention Center becomes the 16th largest convention center in the country.
Last year, a Marriott hotel complex opened right next to the convention center, adding another 1,500 rooms within walking distance of the facility. Now the center is connected to 4,717 hotel rooms—more than any other convention center in the U.S.—via climate-controlled skywalks. Also, in 2009, a new terminal opened at the Indianapolis International Airport.
As a direct result of the expansion, the city has already booked and retained conventions that will generate $1.3 billion in economic impact for Indianapolis, officials say. The city will also host the Super Bowl in 2012.
Indy Expansion to Transform City
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