$51 million Huntington Convention expansion now open

The old Global Center for Health Innovation may have never lived up to its promised billing, but the $51 million expansion of the Huntington Convention Center into it already is, creating spaces that no other city currently has.

"It's sort of like we're skating where the puck is going, and I think a lot of people are going to be very jealous of what we have," said Destination Cleveland President and CEO David Gilbert. "It's not only beautiful space, now that it's transformed, and honestly it's something that will wow customers, but there's so much in here that we just needed."

"We were so short on meeting space, that's a side of this business that's grown tremendously particularly coming into COVID during and after. And the fact that we've been able to add it without building an entirely new building and make it look so beautiful it absolutely is going to make our job easier," he said.

While Cleveland's main convention center is only 11 years old, the convention landscape has changed, according to Huntington Convention Center General Manager Ron King.

"When we set out to do this project we really wanted to do what is the next level of convention center, what's the next iteration of a convention center," King said. "Eleven years ago people wanted a dark space, they wanted to able to just be enclosed in a dark space. All of that's changed."

The westward expansion on the Ontario side of the building allows for the doubling of the first-floor ballroom, enabling them to create this massive outdoor entertainment terrace above, offering a connection to downtown Cleveland. In addition, former offices have been converted into unique meeting spaces, with soft seating, pool tables, LED lighting, and other things convention planners were seeking while also giving the mostly underground convention center something that didn't have — an open and airy feel.

It also did something else: it gave the convention center something it lacked — a signature entrance.

"This center gives us a front door, it gives the community a connection, and it really, really welcomes people when they get here," said Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne.

"A traditional convention center is a square box and in our case underground but we needed something above that showcased who we are bring the world into Cleveland."

When you get a new house, car, or anything, you want to show it off, especially when you plan on using it to lure new business. Cleveland doesn't have to wait long, like two weeks before the ultimate showcase, the Superbowl of conventions, and the American Society of Association Executives, essentially a convention of the nation's convention planners.

"Huge for Cleveland to host this," said Gilbert. "But even bigger because they're going to get, to your point, they're going to get to you know smell the new car smell in this place. And there are some things like the suites and some other things in here that literally no other convention building in the country has and this is our chance to have them see it and for us to book lots of future business in this building and the rest of the center."

And to that point, the convention center says 63 future events have already been booked here before the space was even finished.