DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — A plan to build a new Durham Convention Center is taking another step forward. A study finds that the current meeting space downtown is too small.
The building has played host to meetings and events for over three decades, but Susan Amey with Discover Durham says the current convention center is undersized. “What we have confines us to pretty small meetings,” she said. “And so the footprint and the impact that they can have is proportionately pretty small.”
City leaders are taking this as an opportunity to bring in more visitors. “We’re the fourth largest city in the State of North Carolina, 75th largest city in the United States,” Durham Mayor Pro Tempore Mark-Anthony Middleton said. “But, no disrespect, places like Wilmington and New Bern have larger convention center space than Durham.”
First look inside the Lenovo Center, formerly PNC Arena in Raleigh
Instead of renovating and expanding the existing Durham Convention Center, a feasibility study recommends a brand new one that includes more space. The cost to build a new convention center itself is projected at $315 million. Plans also add a connected 500-key hotel costing well over $200 million.