Rendering of the exterior planned at Memphis (Tenn.) Cook Convention Center, which is undergoing a $175 million renovation. (Courtesy Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau.)
Memphis (Tenn.) Cook Convention Center is in the final stages of preplanning for a $175-million renovation of the 350,000-square-foot, 44-year-old venue. When completed, the facility will boast 120,000 square feet of column-free floor space, 56 breakout rooms, a new all-glass concourse and a new menu.
The renovation is being paid for by a 1.8 percent lodging tax that was first imposed in 2016, with additional funding coming from the Memphis Tourism Development Zone, according to Kevin Kane, president and CEO of the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“We’ve been looking at making improvements to the convention center from as early as 2003,” Kane said. “After feasibility studies in 2010 and 2012 the city voted to start implementing the lodging tax in 2016 to fund the renovation project.”
“We are going to upgrade the facility mechanically, technically and functionally inside and out,” he said. “We’re touching every square inch of the building from the loading docks to the parking garage to all the major footprints inside the venue to the exterior facade. When we finish the project it will feel like a brand new building.”
The building will feature “hotel-style finishes,” and Kane said that constructing 52 new breakout rooms (there are 30 now) will be one of the major improvements.
“Our meeting rooms are very inflexible right now, with low ceilings and columns, and are not conducive to the demands of a 21st-century breakout room,” he explained. “We’re gutting every room. Every room will have a minimum of 20-foot ceilings, and they will all have flexibility via air walls.”
The renovated main exhibit hall will be 120,000 square feet, with the ability to divide it into three 40,000-square-foot rooms as needed. “The western end of the exhibit hall will be retrofitted and we will bust through the west wall to create a 35- by 200-square-foot all-glass concourse that overlooks the Mississippi River. This will give us the ability to create another 40,000-square-foot ballroom with the beauty of the river right in front of you.”
Construction will start in April and conclude in September. The designers are Atlanta-based TVS Design and local architect LRK Memphis. A construction firm has not been selected yet; bids are currently out for RFP.
The venue will remain open during the construction, said Pierre Landaiche, the convention center's GM and VP, who has been with the venue since 1996.
“We are making every attempt to keep the building open, operational and active during the construction,” he said. “We’ve been talking with our customers, discussing phases and stages, and don’t expect to lose a tremendous amount of business. The business we will lose will be a matter of pain now for gain down the road.”
Landaiche said that “communicating with the customers” was the key to retaining business during the construction and that they’ve “taken a hard look at access routes, noise and quiet times to convince the clients that their events will be mostly undisturbed.” He also advised being transparent with the local community. “We’re going out of our way to keep everyone updated during every phase of the project,” he said.
The center’s four biggest events —AutoZone National Sales Meeting, Farm and Gin show (which has been at the convention center for 60 years), St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and National Contract Bridge League — are all onboard for their respective events during the renovations. There have been no cancellations thus far.
Technology in the venue is getting a major overhaul. “Every part of our technological infrastructure is being refurbished,” Landaiche said. “Our IT back end will be state-of-the art.”
Another area being modernized is security. “We’ve been working closely with a local security consultant to upgrade all our systems to contemporary standards,” he said. “We’re adding several more advanced cameras, and we’re completely redoing our key system, which will only allow access through fingerprints and facial recognition.”
The concessionaire is the Sheraton Hotel, which is next door. “We’ve been with them since 1998,” said Landaiche. “We’re planning to overhaul our food and beverage equipment and service areas, and the Sheraton will revise and update our menus with the opening of the new building.”
Kane said the decision to renovate versus building a new building was cost. “We studied it hard and we did not have the bonding capacity or voter support for bond revenues to build a new building that would have cost between $500 million and $600 million,” said Kane. “Besides, we did not need a 250,000-square-foot exhibit hall or 100 breakout rooms. The bones of the building are in good shape and the renovation will solve all our issues.”
Kane said that the economic impact on the city is “well north of $100 million” and that last year the center had only “40 dark days. It’s a very active building.”
“This is one of the largest public projects in Memphis since the FedEx Forum was built in 2003,” he said.