CINCINNATI — After 18 months and $264 million in renovations, the Cincinnati convention center is finally open once again.
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, along with city, county and state leaders, celebrated the unveiling of the remodeled convention center during a ribbon-cutting Wednesday.
"It happened because we all understand the power that our transformed convention center will have," Pureval said.
Pureval said the new and improved building will bring an increased attraction for new events to Cincinnati.
We got a tour of the new convention center Wednesday morning with 3CDC's Joe Rudemiller.
WATCH: See our tour of the new and improved convention center in the video below:
Overall, the building now totals 750,000 square feet.
He said the biggest difference that most people will notice is the outside of the building. That includes the big 'Cincinnati' sign, welcoming those driving from the west side.
He said, overall, it's a much more modern building.
"I think people who have been a lot are going to be really amazed at, kind of, the transformation and what has changed," Rudemiller said.
There are plenty of interior changes, too. That includes more natural lighting, wider spaces and improved aesthetics.
Rudemiller said they also upgraded and added four additional meeting rooms.
He said the changes are already drawing interest for new events.
"As people come and visit this space and see what we've done to it, it's really on their radar," Rudemiller said.
The convention center no longer bears Duke Energy's name. 3CDC is still working on finalizing who will get the naming rights.
While construction on the convention center is complete, there is still more to be done.
That includes finishing the renovation of the convention center garage and the addition of a new Marriott convention headquarters hotel. The hotel is expected to open its doors to guests in 2028.
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 convention center
- $28 million in total is going toward the purchase and renovation of the Whex Garage
If you want to check out the changes for yourself, the center will be open to the public during Redsfest next week.
