GalaxyCon will stay in Raleigh through 2031 with new deal

Cosplayers, comic book collectors and video game aficionados will continue to make their annual pilgrimage to Raleigh Convention Center, at least until the end of the decade.

Driving the news: On Thursday, at the onset of GalaxyCon's four-day festival in Raleigh, GalaxyCon's owner inked a deal to keep the convention here until 2031 and Animate! until at least 2030.

Why it matters: The convention for comic books, sci-fi and video game lovers, and its sister conference Animate!, which debuted last year, are two of downtown Raleigh's biggest annual events.

• Last year's GalaxyCon had more than 50,000 attendees and an economic impact of more than $8.5 million .

State of play: The deal comes as Raleigh prepares to significantly expand its convention center.

• The city and Wake County plan to spend $387 million from their interlocal fund for that expansion on the site of Red Hat Amphitheater.
• Red Hat is expected to move a block south .

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