Indiana Convention Center
Indiana Convention Center | |
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![]() Indiana Convention Center at Capitol Avenue and Georgia Street in 2020. | |
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Address | 100 South Capitol Avenue |
Location | Indianapolis, Indiana 46225 |
Coordinates | 39°45′55″N 86°9′45″W / 39.76528°N 86.16250°W |
Owner | Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority (State of Indiana) |
Operator | Capital Improvement Board of Managers of Marion County, Indiana |
Built | 1969–1972 |
Opened | 1972 |
Expanded | 1984, 1993, 2000, 2011 |
Former names | Indiana Convention-Exposition Center |
Enclosed space | |
• Total space | 937,000 square feet (90,000 m2) |
• Exhibit hall floor | 566,600 square feet (50,000 m2) (11 halls) |
• Breakout/meeting | 113,302 square feet (11,000 m2) (71 rooms) |
• Ballroom | 62,173 square feet (5,776.1 m2) (3 rooms) |
Parking | Pay parking nearby |
Bicycle facilities | Indiana Pacers Bikeshare |
Public transit access | IndyGo |
Website | |
www |
The Indiana Convention Center is a major convention center located in Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The original structure was completed in 1972 and has undergone multiple expansions. In total, there are 71 meeting rooms, 11 exhibit halls, and three multi-purpose ballrooms. The connected facilities of Lucas Oil Stadium offer an additional 183,000 square feet (20,000 m2) of exhibit space and 12 meeting rooms.[1]
History
Originally named the Indiana Convention-Exposition Center, groundbreaking for the $26.1 million venue occured December 8, 1969. Completed in 1972, the original project included a 123,000 square feet (11,400 m2) exhibition hall and 25 meeting rooms.[2] The first major expansion to the Indiana Convention Center was finished in 1984 concurrent with construction of the 60,500-seat Hoosier Dome (later renamed the RCA Dome), to which it was connected. The combined cost was around $94.7 million.[3]
The convention center was expanded again from 1992 to 1993. The $43 million two-story addition increased meeting room capacity to 127,595 square feet (11,854.0 m2) in 52 rooms, exhibit space to 301,500 square feet (28,010 m2) in five exhibit halls, and three ballrooms. The project also included skywalk connections to the Westin Indianapolis and Hyatt Regency Indianapolis (via Plaza Park Garage).[3] Another expansion occurred in 2000[4][5] including a skywalk connection to the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.
Construction of the 67,000-seat Lucas Oil Stadium began in September 2005 one block south of the RCA Dome. Opening in August 2008, the $720 million stadium contains approximately 183,000 square feet (17,000 m2) of exhibition space.[6] Upon completion of Lucas Oil Stadium, the RCA Dome was demolished. The iconic air-lifted dome was deflated and the implosion of the stadium was completed in December 2008.[6] The convention center's most recent and largest expansion was undertaken from 2008 to 2010, opening in January 2011. A $275 million 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2) addition was constructed on the site of the former RCA Dome.[7] As part of the expansion, an underground walkway along the west side of Capitol Avenue was built to directly connect this new portion of the facility to Lucas Oil Stadium. A skywalk was also built to connect the convention center with the JW Marriott Indianapolis (via the Government Center Washington Street Parking Facility), which was completed in 2011.[8]
Ratio Architects, Inc. was the lead architectural firm for the expansion, assisted by other Indiana companies, BSA LifeStructures, Blackburn Architects, and Domain Architecture Inc. Indianapolis-based Shiel Sexton Co. Inc.[9] was the lead construction manager, in association with Powers & Sons Construction Company Inc.
In addition to its space, the Indiana Convention Center now possesses 49 loading docks, seven drive-in ramps, and three food courts. It is also connected to 12 hotels and 4,700 hotel rooms via skywalks, the most of any U.S. convention center.[10]
In September 2020, Indianapolis City-County Council unanimously approved a $155 million bond measure to build a 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) ballroom, 93,500 square feet (8,690 m2) of meeting and pre-function space, and two high-rise hotels developed by Kite Realty, totaling 1,400 rooms.[11] The first hotel, branded as a Signia by Hilton, is planned to be completed in 2024. According to the Indianapolis Star, this is the fifth major expansion of the Indiana Convention Center.[5]
Notable events
The Indiana Convention Center has been the host to a large variety of meetings and conventions. These include:
Annual Events
- Big Ten Football Championship Game Fan Fest
- FDIC International (1994–present)
- Gen Con (2003–present)
- Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration
- Indiana Comic Con (2010–present)
- Indianapolis Auto Show
- Indy PopCon (2014–present)
- National FFA Convention (2006–2012, 2016–present)
- Performance Racing Industry Trade Show
Past Events
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Entrance_to_Super_Bowl_Experience_%286837513035%29.jpg/220px-Entrance_to_Super_Bowl_Experience_%286837513035%29.jpg)
- Miss Gay America (September 1986)[12]
- 1987 Pan American Games (August 1987)[13]
- General Council of the Assemblies of God (August 2000)[2]
- Star Wars Celebration II (May 2002)[14]
- USA Wrestling 2003 Senior World Team Trials (June 2003)[15]
- Star Wars Celebration III (April 2005)[16]
- NCAA Bracket Town (April 2010)[17]
- NFL Super Bowl Experience (January–February 2012)[18]
- NCAA Final Four Fan Fest (April 2015)
- NCAA Tourney Town
- Women's Basketball Final Four (March–April 2011)
- Women's Basketball Final Four (March–April 2016)
- National Rifle Association[19]
- Church of the Nazarene
- 2013 General Assembly and Conventions (June 2013)
- 2017 General Assembly and Conventions (June 2017)
- NFL Scouting Combine Experience (2017 and 2018)
- United Pentecostal Church International North American Youth Congress (2017)
- Church of God In Christ Auxiliaries in Ministry Convention (2018)
Public art
- Female Tourist – Public artwork by American artist Tom Otterness[20]
- Free Money – Public artwork by American artist Tom Otterness[20]
- King at Rest – Public artwork by American artist Lorenzo Ghiglieri[21]
- Male Tourist – Public artwork by American artist Tom Otterness[20]
References
- ^ "Indy Convention Planning Guide". Visit Indy. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
- ^ a b Sikich, Chris (April 9, 2014). "Convention City: Convention Center's growth vaults Indy into upper tier". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ a b Bodenhamer, David; Barrows, Robert, eds. (1994). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. p. 734.
- ^ Maurer, Katie (September 22, 2010). "Indiana Convention Center might need yet another expansion". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ a b Pak-Harvey, Amelia (September 13, 2020). "Indy says expanding convention center amid pandemic is worth the risk. Others are unsure". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ a b "ISCBA: Home". in.gov. Archived from the original on October 27, 2006.
- ^ Schoettle, Anthony (September 21, 2015). "Expand the Indiana Convention Center again?". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ "JW Marriott Indianapolis Downtown". The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
- ^ "Shiel Sexton". shielsexton.com.
- ^ "Connected Hotels in Indianapolis". Visit Indy. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
- ^ Quinn, Samm (September 14, 2020). "City-County Council approves financing plan for convention center expansion". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ Bella, Timothy (April 7, 2015). "Looking at Indianapolis' unofficial LGBT history". Al Jazeera America. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "Pan Am Games Schedule". United Press International, Inc. July 29, 1987. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ "Celebration III Set for Indy". Star Wars: Community. January 23, 2004. Archived from the original on August 14, 2007. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ Waddle, Brian (June 11, 2003). "Out of the Woods: Gary native competing at USA Wrestling World Team Trials in Indy next week". Northwest Indiana Times. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ Britton, Bonnie (April 21, 2005). "'Star Wars' lands in Indy: Fans from around the world descend for 4-day event". The Indianapolis Star. p. A1. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ "Final Four Bracket Town puts you in the game". Indiana Office of Tourism Development. March 21, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ "Have a Super experience downtown". The Torch. January 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c Sikich, Chris (April 3, 2019). "NRA convention expected to draw 80,000 to Indianapolis; Trump, Pence scheduled to speak". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Free Money, Female Tourist, Male Tourist". Arts Council of Indianapolis. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ "King at Rest". Arts Council of Indianapolis. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)