San Diego Convention Center facts for kids
Quick facts for kids San Diego Convention Center |
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| Address | 111 West Harbor Drive |
| Location | San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 32°42′23″N 117°09′41″W / 32.70639°N 117.16139°W |
| Built | March 1987 – November 1989 |
| Opened | November 1989 |
| Expanded | September 2001 |
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Construction cost
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$164 million ($387 million in 2022 dollars ) |
| Enclosed space | |
| • Total space | 2,600,000 sq ft (240,000 m2) |
| • Exhibit hall floor | 615,700 sq ft (57,200 m2) |
| • Breakout/meeting | 123,400 sq ft (11,460 m2) |
| • Ballroom | 80,700 sq ft (7,500 m2) |
| Parking | 1,950 spaces |
| Public transit access | Convention Center  Gaslamp Quarter |
The San Diego Convention Center is a very large building in San Diego, California, USA. It's where many big meetings, shows, and events happen. You can find it in the downtown San Diego area, close to the Gaslamp Quarter. A special group created by the City of San Diego runs the center.
Contents
History of the Convention Center
People in San Diego decided to build a new convention center in 1983. Construction started in March 1987 and finished in November 1989. The building was made much bigger in September 2001. This expansion doubled its size!
Many famous events have taken place here. These include San Diego Comic-Con and TwitchCon. The TV game show Wheel of Fortune even filmed episodes here. Contestants from San Diego played the game, and the shows aired in 1997, 2003, and 2007.
In 1996, a big political meeting called the 1996 Republican National Convention was held at the center. At this meeting, political parties choose their candidates for president and vice president.
A large hotel, the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, opened near the center in 2008. A special bridge for walking, the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge, opened in 2011. This bridge connects the convention center to other parts of the city.
TwitchCon, a big event for video game streamers, has been hosted here several times. It was held in 2016, 2019, and 2022. TwitchCon was also hosted in 2024 and is planned to return to the San Diego Convention Center from 2025 to 2028. This makes it one of the biggest regular events at the center.
Cool Events Held Here
- San Diego Comic-Con: A huge festival for comics, movies, and pop culture. It has been held here every year since 1979.
- Society for Neuroscience: A meeting for scientists who study the brain. It was held in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2018, and 2022.
- 1996 Republican National Convention: A major political event where a political party chooses its leaders.
- Biotechnology Industry Organization: A big convention about science and medicine, held in 2014.
- Esri International User Conference: A conference about mapping technology, held every year since 1997.
- Wheel of Fortune: The famous TV game show filmed episodes here in 1997, 2003, and 2007.
- TwitchCon: A convention for people who stream video games and other content online. It was held in 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2024. It is also scheduled for 2025 through 2028.
- DreamHack: A festival for video games and esports, held in 2023.
Convention Center Design
The convention center has a huge amount of space for exhibits, about 615,700 sq ft (57,200 m2). That's like more than ten football fields! A Canadian architect named Arthur Erickson designed this impressive building. The center can hold up to 125,000 people at one time.
The most special part of the center is the Sails Pavilion. This area is 90,000 sq ft (8,400 m2) and is used for exhibits and special parties. Its roof looks like giant white "sails" made of a special fabric. These sails remind everyone of San Diego's history with ships and the ocean. They also show how close the center is to the water.
The Sails Pavilion was first built without walls, like an open-air space. But it was hard to get people to book an outdoor area. So, in 2000, glass walls were added. This made the space much more useful. The Sails Pavilion was updated again from 2016 to 2018. Now it has a cool LED lighting system that can change colors and patterns.
Another interesting feature is an inclined elevator. This elevator goes up next to a large outdoor staircase, making it easy for everyone to reach different levels.
Plans for Expansion
For many years, there have been talks about making the convention center even bigger. In 2012, there was a plan to add 33 percent more space. This would have made the center much larger.
However, there were some challenges with how to pay for the expansion. A special tax on hotels was planned to help fund it. But a court ruled that this tax needed to be approved by voters. Because of these issues, the expansion plans faced delays.
In 2017, new plans to expand the center started up again. There was a vote in 2020 to help raise money for the expansion and also to help people experiencing homelessness. The city has continued to work on agreements to allow the convention center to grow onto nearby land.
See also
In Spanish: Centro de convenciones de San Diego para niños
- List of convention centers in the United States
