The Monterey Conference Center will reopen this month after a $60 million renovation.
The conference facility is LEED certified and offers 40,000 square feet of meeting space that can hold up to 3,200 attendees. Located in downtown Monterey, Calif., the Center is connected to the Monterey Marriott and the newly-renovated Portola Hotel and Spa, with a combined total of 85,000 square feet of meeting venues, 19,150 square feet of exhibition space, and more than 700 hotel rooms.
The two-year renovation has upgraded the building’s technology; venues have been redesigned so that multiple events can take place simultaneously, and the facility made each venue ADA compliant.
The renovated building now includes multiple skylights to make the most of natural light, including a 50-by-15-foot oval oculus above the Steinbeck Ballroom terrace. The terrace was designed to protect event attendees from coastal winds and rain, and has views of the mountains and Monterey’s historic downtown. The 10,000-square-foot Steinbeck Ballroom has been reconfigured to include new lighting, pre-function space, and a roll-up door for automobile access for car launches or exhibitions.
The lobby space has been enlarged and windows up to the double-height ceiling have been added so that events are visible to attendees outside on Portola Plaza, and the plaza has been reconfigured for better access to the waterfront.
First opened in 1977, the Monterey Conference Center hosted the first ever TED Conference in 1984.
