San Diego Convention Center

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.

San Diego Convention Center
View of the center from the San Diego Bay
Address	111 West Harbor Drive
Location	San Diego, California
Coordinates	32.7063°N 117.1612°W / 32.7063; -117.1612
Built	March 1987 - November 1989
Opened	November 1989
Expanded	September 2001
Construction cost	$164 million ($359 million in 2021 dollars[1])
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	1950 spaces[2]
Public transit access	Convention Center (San Diego Trolley station)
Website
www.visitsandiego.com

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

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.