The Crescent City, The Big Easy, Hollywood
South, the Silicon Bayou — whatever the
nickname, all meeting planners can call Ne w
Orleans their next meeting destination. And
as more development continues to reshape
the city, more and more groups are discovering why New Orleans is a great place to
do business.
Currently, the New Orleans Ernest N.
Morial Convention Center is embarking on
an ambitious new project that will completely
transform the city’s riverfront. The 47-acre
Convention Center District Development
Project will include a new headquarters
hotel, a linear park along Convention Center
Boulevard, outdoor entertainment, arts and
cultural venues, and new retail shopping and
housing. The debut of the project is projected
to coincide with the city’s 300th anniversary
in 2018 — just in time to help accommodate
the growing influx of visitors to the city.
As the city approaches this tricentennial
celebration, other capital-improvement proj-
ects are also being checked off the list. The
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International
Airport is making progress on its $950-mil-
lion overhaul, which started construction
on a new, 760,000-square-foot terminal in
January 2016. Comprising two concourses
with 30 gates, a consolidated checkpoint,
seamless connections between concourses,
and 2,000 new parking spaces, the develop-
ment also includes plans for an on-site hotel
and improved interstate access.
The heart of New Orleans’ meetings
proposition, the New Orleans Ernest N.
Morial Convention Center (MCCNO) has
received its fair share of upgrades as well.
A $52-million overhaul completed in 2013
has revamped the look and feel of the facility, and with an impressive 1. 1 million square
feet of contiguous exhibit space, the new
New Orleans Ernest N.
Morial Convention Center
Work and play on the Mississippi River
Big Easy meetings New Orleans is a leader in hosting groups of all sizes. Its singular culture,
Southern hospitality, and rich history are just a few of the reasons why conventions report record-breaking attendance and return year after year.
