In late May, the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center Authority approved two proposals that were necessary to develop a 1,000-room headquarters hotel at the center, including a letter of intent with Omni Hotels & Resorts to own and manage the new property.
The authority also approved the purchase of a piece of property most likely to be used for the headquarters hotel, located across the street from the center. The parcel is surrounded on its other three sides by the Hilton Garden Inn New Orleans, the Hyatt Place New Orleans Convention Center, and the Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans Convention Center.
Presently there are more than half a dozen hotels within four blocks of the Morial Convention Center, but none are large enough to be a headquarters hotel. That includes the 202-room Omni Riverfront Hotel, which is on the north side of the center. The newly purchased parcel of land is in the Warehouse District and located near the middle of the convention center, which has 1.1 million square feet of exhibit space plus 140 meeting rooms, a 4,000-seat theater, and ballrooms of 30,000 and 60,000 square feet. The facility is the sixth-largest of its kind in North America.
Recent upgrades at the convention center include a multi-modal transportation center that streamlines the flow of buses, shuttles, taxis, and rideshares; and a 7.5-acre linear park between the center and the Mississippi River that includes water elements, public-art installations, live-event spaces, and shaded gathering areas. Furthermore, the first element of the River District redevelopment on the south side of the center will be a new TopGolf entertainment facility that’s expected to be ready in 2025.
Hotel Timetable
For the coming hotel, further negotiation and planning between the convention center authority and Omni will happen in the coming months. Construction could begin by mid-2025, with an expected opening sometime in 2028. It will be the third Omni property in the city; in addition to the Omni Riverfront, the 346-room Omni Royal Orleans is in the French Quarter.
Michael Sawaya, president and CEO of the Morial Convention Center, said the approved proposals bring New Orleans “one step closer to attracting the trade shows, conventions, and events that only an adjacent headquarters hotel can.”
Walter Leger III, president and CEO of New Orleans & Company, added that “it’s critical we develop new product offerings to remain competitive, especially when cities such as Las Vegas, Dallas, Nashville, Austin, Orlando, and others are making significant investments in new hotels [and their] convention centers and major tourist attractions.”
