Already an established center for sports, entertainment and the arts, Cincinnati is raising the stakes on that trifecta with plans to completely renovate its convention center by 2025 while at the same time making it the centerpiece of a complete convention district that will include a headquarter hotel.
Prevue attended the groundbreaking—a “wall breaking” actually—on the old Duke Energy Convention Center (DECC), which took place July 16, 2024 with local, county and state officials on hand to watch the first tiles fall and the center start its transformation to a work zone before emerging in late 2025 as a $240M rebuild.
There was some discussion beforehand about keeping the DECC open during the renovation, but that idea was nixed in favor of the more direct and ultimately faster approach of working straight through to 2025. In the meantime, the city’s convention business will be funneled to the nearby Sharonville Convention Center and, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.
“We embrace moments of necessary change,” said Jeff Berding, Visit Cincy Board Vice Chairperson, addressing the crowd. “This change will increase the quality and enhance the caliber of our conventions and trade shows. We don’t want to just hold against peer cities, we want to exceed them.”
Already accepting bookings for 2026 and beyond, the new DECC will boast:
- An outdoor square, Elm Street Plaza, which will connect to programmable park space.
- Energy-efficient exhibit and meeting space incorporating the latest in sustainable technology.
- Revitalized ballrooms offering elegant, flexible event space.
- A sunlit pre-function area for gathering and networking.
- A rooftop terrace offering sweeping Cincy views and additional space for special events.
With the new convention center as its focal point, further plans call for an entire convention district to be built around it, including a headquarter hotel due in 2027, connected to the center via skybridge.
“When complete, there will be $48M in new business,” noted Julie Calvert, President and CEO of Visit Cincy. “A healthy convention district means growth, and a convention season that can be year-round.”
You May Also Be Interested In…
Milwaukee — Baird Center is the Toast of the Town
The Venetian Unveils $1.5B Redevelopment, Including Expo Center
