The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is located in

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. The lower end of building one is located upriver from Canal Street on the banks of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. It is named after former

Mayor of New Orleans The post of Mayor of the City of New Orleans () has been held by the following individuals since New Orleans came under American administration following the Louisiana Purchase — the 1803 acquisition by the U.S. of of the French province '' ...

Ernest Nathan Morial. It has about 1.1 million sq. ft. (102,000 m²) of exhibit space, covering almost 11 blocks, and over 3 million sq. ft. (280,000 m²) of total space, making it the seventh largest convention center in the United States. The front of the main building is 1 kilometer long.

History

The center was planned starting in 1978. It is the fifth-largest facility of its kind in the United States, and as of early 2005 was the second-busiest. The first portion of the building was constructed as part of the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition; a series of additions in subsequent

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expanded the center further upriver. The complex was named in honor of Ernest N. Morial, the city's first African American mayor, in 1992. In 2008, the center was renamed the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in order to emphasize its New Orleans location. New Orleans Convention Center

From August 26 through 27, 2005, '' Wheel of Fortune'' came to tape three weeks of shows at the convention center. But as

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

threatened the area, they canceled the last week in order to evacuate. In the aftermath of Katrina, the Convention Center was the second most important shelter for survivors, after the

Louisiana Superdome Caesars Superdome (originally Louisiana Superdome and formerly Mercedes-Benz Superdome), commonly known as the Superdome, is a domed multi-purpose stadium in the Southern United States, southern United States, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. ...

. After serving as a temporary medical clinic for some time, the structure again began welcoming conventions in early 2006, including that of the

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Hurricane Katrina

After Hurricane Katrina passed through the city in 2005, thousands of evacuees were directed to the Convention Center as an unofficial evacuation center. In the confusion following the disaster, people escaping from

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ed neighborhoods were directed to the Convention Center by police and word of mouth, with the expectation that there would be provisions, aid, and evacuation

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

es there. However no such resources were there for several days. Around 20,000–25,000 people gathered at the complex in difficult conditions with no power, no water, no food, no medical supplies, no proper

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

, and with only minimal occasional

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

presence within the center, resulting in incidents of

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and

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. There were reports of multiple deaths at the center, from causes including violence,

dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water that disrupts metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds intake, often resulting from excessive sweating, health conditions, or inadequate consumption of water. Mild deh ...

, and lack of

medication Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to medical diagnosis, diagnose, cure, treat, or preventive medicine, prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmaco ...

for the ill. The poor conditions and lack of prompt government response at the convention center were revealed to the nation on several TV news networks including

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and

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. Secretary of

Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

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falsely claimed to be unaware of any problem with conditions even after the networks had been broadcasting images and live reports from the Convention Center. The Morial Convention Center was declared evacuated on September 4.

Post-Katrina

The Convention Center finished a complete renovation of the facility in November 2006. A previously scheduled expansion project, which would add of exhibition space in a new building, has been temporarily delayed. The 2006 renovations included the creation of the 4,032-seat New Orleans Theater, a

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage (theatre), stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention ...

used primarily for

concerts A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

, Broadway stage shows, and other special events. In 2013, the convention center completed a $52 million dollar revamp of Hall A into a column free ballroom known as the Great Hall and prefunction space. The renovation includes a new entrance on the Julia St. side Since 2018, the Convention Center is currently undergoing a $557 million multi-phased renovation and upgrades includes new energy-efficient roofing system, technology upgrades in the meeting rooms, linear park, and lobby improvement with the completion date set for late 2029. On Jan. 30, the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority approved a headquarters hotel development agreement and ground lease agreement with Omni Hotels & Resorts to develop a 1,000-room headquarters hotel and an additional 100,000 sq ft. meeting room, that will anchor the convention center

Hosting events (and sports events)

* The Super Bowl Experience on January 30–February 3, 2013 * The 2014 NBA All-Star Game Jam Session, NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and NBA All-Star practice, were held at the convention center. * PFL 8, a

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event was held at the convention center on October 5, 2018. * The 71st Miss Universe competition held on January 14, 2023. * The Super Bowl Experience on February 5-8, 2025

References

External links