
San Diego officials praised Fentress’ design, calling it “fantastic.”
The proposed conceptual design for the bayside expansion creates a sustainable 5-acre waterfront public space and the largest exhibit hall and largest ballroom west of the Mississippi River. Fentress’ design will provide significant savings to the San Diego Convention Center Corporation in construction and operating costs. It reduces the building mass and volume of a prior conceptual design by approximately 38 percent while meeting all other program requirements. The expansion is designed to add:
- an 80,000-square-foot ballroom,
- 100,000 square feet of meeting rooms, and
- 225,000 square feet of exhibit space,
- creating 750,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space.

Sustainable by Design
Designed to LEED Gold standards, sustainable design solutions include:
- Reducing the building mass and volume of a prior conceptual design by 38-percent
- Rooftop public park for water reclamation