San Diego Convention Center

Coordinates: 32°42′23″N 117°09′40″W / 32.7063°N 117.1612°W / 32.7063; -117.1612
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
San Diego Convention Center
View of the center from the San Diego Bay
Address111 West Harbor Drive
LocationSan Diego, California
Coordinates32°42′23″N 117°09′40″W / 32.7063°N 117.1612°W / 32.7063; -117.1612
BuiltMarch 1987 - November 1989
OpenedNovember 1989
ExpandedSeptember 2001
Construction cost
$164 million
($359 million in 2021 dollars[1])
Enclosed space
 • Total space2,600,000 sq ft (240,000 m2)
 • Exhibit hall floor615,700 sq ft (57,200 m2)
 • Breakout/meeting123,400 sq ft (11,460 m2)
 • Ballroom80,700 sq ft (7,500 m2)
Parking1950 spaces[2]
Public transit accessConvention Center (San Diego Trolley station)
Website
www.visitsandiego.com

The San Diego Convention Center is the main convention center in San Diego, California. It is in the Marina district of downtown San Diego. The center is managed by the San Diego Convention Center Corporation.

The convention center has 615,700 sq ft (57,200 m2) of exhibit area. As of 2009 it was the 24th largest convention center in North America.[3] It was designed by Canadian architect Arthur Erickson. The building can hold 125,000 people.[4]

The center's best known feature is the Sails Pavilion. It is a 90,000 sq ft (8,400 m2) exhibit and special event area. The Sails Pavilion's roof includes Teflon-coated fiberglass "sails". They are intended to show San Diego's maritime history. The Pavilion was first built as an open-air facility under the roof. This made it hard to get people to use it. Because of this, the Pavilion area was enclosed in glass. This made it much more usable.[5]

History[change | change source]

San Diego approved the construction of a new convention center in 1983. It was built on land owned by the Port of San Diego. Construction of the building began in March 1987 and was finished in November 1989.[6] The center was made larger in September 2001 by doubling its square footage.[7]

Notable events hosted at the convention center include the Comic Con International convention. It hosted the 1996 Republican National Convention, which nominated Bob Dole and Jack Kemp for President and Vice President of the United States.

References[change | change source]

  1. 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  2. "San Diego Convention Center - Parking". San Diego Convention Center Corporation. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  3. "San Diego Convention Center". Archived from the original on 2006-01-01. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  4. Reid, Calvin (July 27, 2009). "Soldout in San Diego: Another Booming Comic-Con". Publishers Weekly. Reed Elsevier Inc. Archived from the original on 30 August 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  5. "allbusiness.com".[permanent dead link]
  6. Brown, Peter Hendee (2009). America's Waterfront Revival: Port Authorities and Urban Redevelopment. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 63–64. ISBN 978-0-8122-4122-8.
  7. Hirsh, Lou (December 30, 2014). "Convention Center Forecasts $1 Billion Impact from 2015 Events". San Diego Business Journal. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
    Wallace, Carol (September 2007). "San Diego Convention Center Corporation". San Diego Magazine. 59 (11). CurtCo/SDM LLC. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
    "Construction Completed On Expansion Of San Diego Convention Center". The Daily Transcript. San Diego. September 13, 2001. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.

Other websites[change | change source]