CINCINNATI — Cincinnati's downtown convention center will have a new name when it reopens next year, according to a spokesperson with Duke Energy.
According to that spokesperson, the company has forged an agreement with the City of Cincinnati: Duke Energy will no longer have naming rights for the building, but the city will pay the company $1.6 million.
Duke Energy's contract for the naming rights was supposed to go through 2032, but this new agreement will end it much earlier — in 2026.
"Duke Energy appreciated the opportunity to partner with the city of Cincinnati on a naming rights agreement for many years," reads a statement from Duke Energy sent to us by a spokesperson. "The newly-renovated convention center provides the city with the ability to identify a new sponsor that will provide future benefit to the convention center district. Reflective of the strong working relationship and ongoing commitment to the community, Duke Energy and the city amicably addressed how the current agreement would sunset. Duke Energy wishes the City of Cincinnati the best with the exciting and beautiful renovated convention center, which will be a terrific attraction in downtown Cincinnati for many years to come."
According to the City of Cincinnati, the $1.6 million owed by the city to Duke Energy could be paid in a manner other than dollars, to reduce the final payment; the ordinance will be referred to the city's Budget and Finance Committee and will be subject to a vote on September 29. The city's announcement did not say what those other options could be.
A press release from the City of Cincinnati said selling the re-naming rights will help support the city's financial contributions to the district's renovations.
The convention center is currently slated to re-open in January 2026 following extensive $248 million in renovations. The convention center is also now part of a "convention district" that reaches out to a newly-created Elm Street Plaza and a nearby, recently-announced hotel.
"This is another exciting development as we usher in a new era at the convention center and unveil the entire convention district," said City Manager Sheryl Long in a press release. "A new naming rights agreement will be a financial benefit and it will also signal to the world that the convention center is starting a new chapter. I'm thankful to Duke Energy for their decades of partnership and excited to have a new sponsor on board when we unveil the reimagined building."
The facade of the convention center has also undergone design changes, including an upgrade to the iconic "Cincinnati" sign facing the highways. Once it's done, the new sign will feature individual LED-illuminated letters that will allow for more creative designs in the future — as opposed to the current design, where the entire letter or sign is lit up all at once.
The new sign will be dynamic, allowing for the customization of each letter, including color changes and gradients.
This means the new sign could be specifically designed on game days to include Bengals stripes, or place the Reds or FC Cincinnati logos directly within the letters.
The sign is mostly visible heading north on I-75 through the city. It was originally installed in 2006 during the convention center's last renovation.
The district's long-awaited hotel will be a Marriott, according to developer Portman Holdings.
The Marriott Hotel will be built just south of the Duke Energy Convention Center when it's done. It's expected to have roughly 700 rooms, more than 62,000 square feet of state-of-the-art meeting space, a 17,445 square-foot events terrace and upscale amenities tailored toward the needs of group, business and recreational travelers.
It will also have multiple ballrooms, ground-floor retail and an outdoor terrace that will overlook 5th Street. The hotel will connect to the convention center by a skybridge, Portman Holdings said.
The hotel is being developed through a public-private partnership, with financial support coming from the City of Cincinnati, Hamilton County and the state of Ohio. The announcement from Portman Holdings says both the city and county were briefed on this project in June and "expressed their support for moving forward."
Early sitework has begun already, according to Portman Holdings, and full-scale construction is expected to begin in late 2025. The hotel is expected to open its doors to guests in 2028.
Nearby, the 780-space Convention Center Garage, purchased by 3CDC in 2023, is also undergoing renovation to the tune of $12 million, but it is still open and operating during that process.
The full convention district is slated to be a $828 million endeavor, according to 3CDC:
- $536 million will go toward the creation of the convention headquarters hotel
- $264 million is being put into the renovations at the Duke Energy Convention Center
- $28 million in total is going toward the purchase and renovation of the Whex Garage
