San Diego Convention Center Expansion

California Coastal Commission recently approved expansion of the San Diego Convention Center and Hilton Bayfront Hotel that sits adjacent to the property overlooking the San Diego Bay. The rendering shows the new San Diego Convention Center design from the bay side of the property.  Nearby attractions include Gaslamp Quarter and Petco Park.

In the world of convention planning, bigger is better but there's seldom a big enough” to satisfy any city or destination. The minute you claim you have the most convention space, there's another city just around the bend ready to knock you out of position and take your customers.

California boasts the most visitors in the U.S. and the most residents of any state. But we don't have the biggest convention centers by any stretch of the imagination. While methods for determining the busiest and biggest convention centers in the nation vary, California only comes in at Number 18 nationally for square feet of space in one location at San Diego Convention Center, and Number 7 for convention visits to Moscone Center in San Francisco.  Cities with the largest convention centers in the state include San Diego, Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The San Diego Convention Center is operated as a non-profit public benefit corporation of City of San Diego to manage 2.6 million square feet of space. But make no mistake–the economic impact of this operation is great! An estimated $1.3 billion impact in 2013, and tax revenue of around $19.2 million are projected.