History
In January 1985, thirteen sites were considered for a proposed Broward County Convention Center. One of the leading sites was a 25-acre (1,100,000 sq ft; 100,000 m2) parcel that included a 15-acre (650,000 sq ft; 61,000 m2) trailer park near Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport at U.S. 1 and Northwest 10th Street. [2] [3] By February, the Fort Lauderdale Commission had shortened the list to six official candidates, but the Broward County Tourist Development Council's top choice was a 9.3-acre (410,000 sq ft; 38,000 m2) Port Everglades-owned parcel on Southeast 17th Street near the beach, hotels and other local tourist attractions. [4] In April 1985, Touche Ross filed a preliminary report that stated that Broward County's "resort atmosphere, climate and cost of travel" were favorable toward a dedicated Convention Center, but that its low first-class hotel room count would be a limiting factor to the meetings it could attract. [5] Thus, when Touche Ross submitted an evaluation of 16 potential sites in June 1985, no locations were highly-rated, but the trailer park site was the best alternative. [6] [7] By 1986, development plans included coordinating accommodations to bring major league baseball, basketball and hockey franchises to South Florida. [8] [9] An request for proposal deadline of November 5, 1986 was set. [10] Only 2 of the 5 candidates received support from any of the 20 civic association presidents in January 1987. [11] The final contenders were a site on the beach at East Las Olas Boulevard and Birch Road as well as one at Port Everglades, but homeowners expressed opposition to the former site. [12] The vote to determine the winning plan was set for March 10, 1987 with the Northport plan to develop the port land off the Southeast 17th Street Causeway and Eisenhower Boulevard with a $45 million ($123 million in 2023), 150,000-square-foot convention center plus a $90 million ($241 million in 2023) commercial marketplace the leading contender. [13]
The Broward County Convention Center topped out in July 1990. [14] On Thursday September 5, 1991, the facility had its ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the $48.9 ($109 million in 2023) development. [15] The center was completed months (4 or 11, depending on the source) ahead of schedule and $750,000 ($1.68 million in 2023) under budget. [16] [17] At the time, a forthcoming on-site hotel was anticipated. [15] Before it opened, The Broward County Convention Center had over 200 events booked. [18] Its grand opening festivities lasted four days, including a Saturday and Sunday public open house. [16] Broward County Convention Center's first scheduled convention was the September 25–28 Florida Roofing, Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors Association assembly of its 3,500 members. [15] It also hosted a Fall Home Show two weekends earlier. [19]
Based on the 2013 USA Today rankings for top convention destinations, Ft. Lauderdale ranked 36th (right behind St. Louis) after having lost its largest annual convention in 2012 due to factors that included "lack of meeting space" and the absence of an adjoining hotel after 20 years of hosting the event. In fact, the convention center deficiencies were estimated to cause Broward County to lose $400 million ($515 million in 2023) in business and 960,000 hotel room nights between 2008 and 2016. [20] At the time, the Broward County Convention Center had 600,000 square feet (56,000 m2), including a 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) exhibit floor. [1] On August 25, 2015, the Broward County Commissioners narrowed the list of potential developers for the renovation of the Convention Center to 5 firms based on financial capacity and capability. [21] [22] Plans for the renovation were announced in April 2017. [23]
Controversially, the Broward County Commissioners decided in 2022 to use $140 million ($146 million in 2023) funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for the hotel portion of the convention center despite the fact that the hotel construction was unrelated to public health. The loose objectives of the COVID-19 relief stimulus included helping local governments to "recover from financial distress" and "achieve their own strategies for restoring jobs," according to a United States Treasury spokesperson. [24] [25] The renovation includes roadwork for a bypass road to serve as an alternate to Southeast 17th Street between the Fort Lauderdale beach and U.S. Route 1. [26]
The groundbreaking for the renovation occurred in May 2019. [27] The expansion to a 350,000 square feet (33,000 m2) exhibition floor and addition of an adjacent hotel was initially expected to be completed by 2021, but was two-years behind schedule by 2018 with the construction phase expected to run from 2020 to 2023. [26] Construction was further delayed during the pandemic. [27] The final phase of the renovation had begun by May 2, 2022 with completion expected by the end of 2025 at a total cost of $1.3 billion. [28] On December 13, 2023, the renovation topped out (officially placed the uppermost steel beam) for the expansion building and adjacent 800-room 29-story Omni Fort Lauderdale Hotel. [29]
Broward County is a county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with 1,944,375 residents as of the 2020 census. Its county seat and most populous city is Fort Lauderdale, which had a population of 182,760 as of 2020. The county is part of the South Florida region of the state.
Coral Springs is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located approximately 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Fort Lauderdale. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 134,394. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area in South Florida, which was home to an estimated 6,012,331 people at the 2015 census.
Fort Lauderdale is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, 30 miles (48 km) north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth-most populous city in Florida. After Miami and Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale is the third-most populous city in the Miami metropolitan area, which had a population of 6,166,488 in 2019.
Plantation is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a part of the South Florida metropolitan area. The city's name comes from the previous part-owner of the land, the Everglades Plantation Company, and their unsuccessful attempts to establish a rice plantation in the area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 91,750.
Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport is a major public airport in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is one of four airports with commercial service serving the Miami metropolitan area. The airport is off Interstate 595, Interstate 95, U.S. Route 1, Florida State Road A1A, and Florida State Road 5 bounded by the cities Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Dania Beach, 3 miles (5 km) southwest of downtown Fort Lauderdale and 21 miles (34 km) north of Miami.
Lockhart Stadium was a stadium used mostly for soccer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. It was used in a variety of sports, particularly soccer and American football.
Amerant Bank Arena is the largest indoor arena in Florida and is located next to Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida, United States. It is the home venue for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League. It was completed in 1998, at a cost of US$185 million, almost entirely publicly financed, and features 70 suites and 2,623 club seats.
Port Everglades is a seaport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located in Broward County. Port Everglades is one of South Florida's foremost economic engines, as it is the gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. In 2022, Port Everglades was ranked the third-busiest cruise homeport, accommodating more than 1.72 million passengers. Port Everglades' cargo sector has been climbed up the rankings based on its operational performance among 348 seaports in the world.
The Galleria at Fort Lauderdale is an upscale super regional shopping mall on Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was originally constructed in 1954 as the open-air shopping mall the Sunrise Center.
The Hollywood Sportatorium was an indoor arena in Pembroke Pines, Florida, located at 17171 Pines Boulevard. The Sportatorium was 26 miles (42 km) from downtown Miami and 23 miles (37 km) from downtown Fort Lauderdale. During its 18 years of operation, it was the only venue of its kind in heavily populated South Florida.
The Conrad Fort Lauderdale is a luxury condominium-hotel resort located on ocean-front property on North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The resort includes 181 condo-hotel units, as well as 109 condominium units in a separate building known as The Ocean Resort Residences. The project initially began construction in July 2005, as Trump International Hotel & Tower Fort Lauderdale. Donald Trump lent his name to the project through a licensing deal before being elected the President of the United States, with New York developer Roy Stillman and Bayrock Group as the project developers. The project's opening was initially scheduled for 2007, but was delayed several times.
WBEC-TV is an educational television station owned and operated by Broward County Public Schools, licensed to Boca Raton, Florida, United States. WBEC-TV broadcasts from studios in Davie and a transmitter in Pembroke Park; the school district also owns WKPX, a non-commercial radio station. Although the station is based in Broward County, WBEC-TV's city of license, Boca Raton, is located within Palm Beach County.
The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is a large multi-venue performing arts center located in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States.
The NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale is an art museum in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Originating in 1958 as the Fort Lauderdale Art Center, the museum is now located in an 83,000-square-foot (7,700 m2) modernist building designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes. The current building was constructed in 1986, with a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) wing added in 2001. The main exhibition area comprises 21,000 square feet (2,000 m2); a sculpture terrace on the second floor adds an additional 2,800 square feet (260 m2) of space. The museum, unlike major museums in nearby Miami, Florida and Palm Beach, Florida, emphasizes contemporary projects, although the collection includes works from the 19th through to the 21st century.
The Bryan Building, which has also been known as the Shepherd Building and as the DeSoto Hotel, is a historic site in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is located at 220-230 Brickell Avenue. In 1997 it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Link Trainer Building is an historic structure in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. On May 20, 1998, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The New River Inn is a historic site in Fort Lauderdale, Florida located at 231 Southwest 2nd Avenue.
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, also known as The Guitar Hotel, due to its tower constructed to resemble a Gibson Les Paul guitar, is a hotel and casino resort near Hollywood, Florida, United States, located on 100 acres (40 ha) of the Hollywood Reservation of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The property currently has three hotel towers, a 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2) casino, large poker room, a 4-acre (1.6 ha) lagoon-style pool facility with a center bar and many private restaurants, shops, spa, cabanas, bars and nightclubs, and the Hard Rock Event Center. A large expansion was completed in October 2019.
The Pride Center at Equality Park is an LGBTQ+ community center in Wilton Manors, Florida, that serves Broward County, Palm Beach County, and Fort Lauderdale. The center provides information, news, and events that affect South Florida's LGBT community. Established in 1993, the center is headquartered within a 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) building with meeting and office space for individuals, programs, services, and organizations. The goal of the center is to empower the LGBT communities in South Florida.
Salah Foundation Children's Hospital (SFCH), formerly Chris Evert Children's Hospital, is a pediatric acute care children's hospital located within Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The hospital has 135 pediatric beds. It is affiliated with Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and is a member of Broward Health. The hospital provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0–21 throughout southeastern Florida. The hospital is also a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center.
