Business and Financial Newly Named Bradenton Area Convention Center Completes $6.5 Million Renovation

BRADENTON – The Bradenton Area Convention Center (BACC) has completed an extensive 18-month, $6.5 million renovation, updating one of Manatee County’s largest meeting venues with a variety of aesthetic and functional improvements. Located on the scenic Manatee River, the newly named Bradenton Area Convention Center features 60,000 square feet of fresh and flexible meeting space, seven spacious breakout rooms and new outdoor options for events. 

“I believe the industry and community will agree the end result was well worth the wait,” said Elliott Falcione, executive director of Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “This greatly improved facility will allow us to better compete for meetings business, and will hopefully attract new interest in building a new convention hotel adjacent to the center.”
       
Renovations, paid for entirely through tourism revenues, include a new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system and arena lighting system, new flooring, paint and wall coverings, energy efficient lighting controls and fixtures, new doors, and a complete renovation of conference rooms and restroom facilities. The Convention Center now boasts convention hotel-style meeting rooms with chandeliers, wall sconces and other attributes blending with the sand and earth tones of the building. 
       
Exterior improvements include a roof renovation, new Florida native landscaping, a new gutter system to help reduce soil erosion, and stacked stone veneer and planters. Also added were new outdoor reception spaces with access from the meeting rooms, which expand the types of events and meetings the center can host. 
        
The Bradenton Area Convention Center provides all the services needed for planning a successful event, including on-site catering, audio visual services, event staff and diverse production capabilities. According to Falcione, the newly enhanced center is now more attractive to meeting and event planners for events of all types and sizes, from intimate corporate meetings to larger musical performances and even weddings. 

An Open House is being held on Wednesday, September 12th, from 8am-11am. To attend, RSVP by calling 941-722-3244 Ext. 0.