The Indiana Convention Center is a major convention center located in Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The original structure was completed in 1972 and has undergone five expansions. In total, there are 71 meeting rooms, 11 exhibit halls, and three multi-purpose ballrooms. The connected facilities of Lucas Oil Stadium offer an additional 183000 sqft of exhibit space and 12 meeting rooms.

History

Originally named the Indiana Convention-Exposition Center, groundbreaking for the $26.1 million venue occurred December 8, 1969. Completed in 1972, the original project included one ballroom, three exhibition halls, and 23 meeting rooms encompassing 160000 sqft. The first major expansion to the Indiana Convention Center added one ballroom, two exhibit halls, and 16 meeting rooms, increasing total rentable space to 371000 sqft—concurrent with construction of the adjoining 60,500-seat Hoosier Dome, later renamed the RCA Dome, both completed in 1984. The combined cost was around $94.7 million. The convention center was expanded again from 1992 to 1993. The $43 million two-story addition increased total rentable space to 419000 sqft, with the additions of the Sagamore Ballroom and 16 meeting rooms. The project also included skywalk connections to the Westin Indianapolis and Hyatt Regency Indianapolis (via Plaza Park Garage). Another expansion followed in 2000. The addition of a ballroom, two exhibit halls, and seven meeting rooms increased the total rentable space to 539000 sqft. The project included a skywalk connection to the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown. Construction of the 67,000-seat Lucas Oil Stadium began in September 2005 one block south of the RCA Dome. Opening in August 2008, the $720 million stadium contains approximately 183000 sqft of exhibition space. Upon completion of Lucas Oil Stadium, the RCA Dome was demolished. The iconic air-lifted dome was deflated and the implosion of the stadium was completed in December 2008. The convention center's most recent and largest expansion was undertaken from 2008 to 2010, opening in January 2011. A 400000 sqft addition was constructed on the site of the former RCA Dome, costing $275 million. As part of the expansion, an underground walkway along the west side of Capitol Avenue was built to connect this new portion of the facility to Lucas Oil Stadium. A skywalk was also built to connect the convention center with the JW Marriott Indianapolis (via the Government Center Washington Street Parking Facility), which was completed in 2011. Ratio Architects, Inc. was the lead architectural firm for the expansion, assisted by other Indiana companies, BSA LifeStructures, Blackburn Architects, and Domain Architecture Inc. Indianapolis-based Shiel Sexton Co. Inc. was the lead construction manager, in association with Powers & Sons Construction Company Inc. In addition to its space, the Indiana Convention Center now possesses 49 loading docks, seven drive-in ramps, and three food courts. It is also connected to 12 hotels and 4,700 hotel rooms via skywalks, the most of any U.S. convention center. In September 2020, Indianapolis City-County Council unanimously approved a $155 million bond measure to build a 50000 sqft ballroom, 93500 sqft of meeting and pre-function space, and two high-rise hotels developed by Kite Realty, totaling 1,400 rooms. The first hotel, branded as a Signia by Hilton, is planned to be completed in 2024. According to the Indianapolis Star and Indianapolis Business Journal, this is the fifth major expansion of the Indiana Convention Center and would push the total rentable space to more than 1000000 sqft.

Notable events

The Indiana Convention Center has been the host to a large variety of events, including concerts, conventions, meetings, pageants, sports competitions, and trade shows.

Annual events

Past events

Public art