Just a couple months away from the first of five big events coming to Cleveland in 2024, organizations are preparing to host the most visitors the city has seen since before the pandemic.

At the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, that preparation involves construction on a $49 million renovation project that’s been in the works for months.

“Convention centers exist as an economic magnet,” said general manager Ron King. “We feel like it’s going to be the wave of the future for convention centers.”

King said the project will add state of the art meeting suites, an atrium ballroom and a rooftop terrace. Construction is expected to wrap up in June, in time for the Pan-American Masters Games in July and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) convention in August.

“[The ASAE] is akin to the Super Bowl of meetings. So, we’ll have meeting planners from all over the world here in Cleveland, checking out the convention center in our city to see if they want to bring meetings here in the future,” King said.

“We want them to have an amazing experience in Cleveland to inspire them to come back,” Emily Lauer said.

Matt Rascon reports. --

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