ORLANDO, Fla. — Construction at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) will allow leaders to expand the venue for future shows, conventions and everything in-between.

What You Need To Know

Construction is underway at the Orange County Convention Center through 2029

The $560 million project is funded through Tourist Development Tax money

The venue will improve walkways between buildings and add additional space for a ballroom and meeting rooms

While construction continues, OCCC leaders say they will continue to host events 

The project entails 650,000 square feet of additional space connected to the North-South building. A 100,000 square foot ballroom and 44,000 square feet of meeting space will be added. Crews will also make improvements to connect the walkways between buildings.

OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester says conversations began in 2015, but the project got put on hold due to the pandemic. Orange County commissioners approved $560 million in Tourist Development Tax funding for the convention center in 2023. The final budget was approved this month.

“It says that we’re doing all the right things to be the top trade show convention destination in the country and that’s our goal,” said Tester.

Tester says the work won’t interfere with events at the convention center.

“The great thing about this project is we’re basically building a building laying adjacent to another building, so we’ll really be able to do a lot of the work without bothering our customers,” said Tester.

The OCCC drives a major economic boost to the county. More than $4.6 billion in economic impact is generated annually, according to a release shared in December.

“We currently do about 185 events per year and this will give us the opportunity to do 205, 210 events per year,” explained Tester. “It’s giving us more opportunity to provide economic impact for the Central Florida region.”

The multi-million dollar project is possible with events like MEGACON Orlando drawing in thousands to the convention center. The event started Thursday and wraps up on Sunday.

“We’ll see over 100,000 fans come through the doors. We have expanded our footprint in the west concourse this year, so we’re just welcoming more and more people to the community,” said MEGACON Vice President Andrew Moyes.

Vendors like CJ Yow tell Spectrum News they’ve visited the convention center before and think it’s great news to hear they’re expanding.

“The bigger the space, the bigger the footprint for artists as well, so I think it’s a win-win,” said Yow.

Staff at the Orange County Convention Center hope to finish construction by 2029.