Venue: Miami Beach Convention Center
Town: Florida, US
Capacity: 2,462

The Miami Beach Convention Center (originally the Miami Beach Exhibition Hall) is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015 to 2020 for $640 million. The re-imagined and enhanced MBCC includes a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) Grand Ballroom (the largest in South Florida), four junior ballrooms, 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) of flexible exhibition space, 84 meeting rooms, and pre-function space, as well as outdoor spaces and terraces. In 1955, the City of Miami Beach proposed building an exhibition hall to increase commerce along with its budding tourism. Located centrally within South Beach, the venue began construction in August 1956. At this time, the proposed name of the venue was the "Miami BBQ Beach Exhibition Hall". After two years of building, the center was completed in September 1958 and officially opened October 1958. Known as the "Miami Beach Exhibition Hall", the venue was over 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2), giving it the tagline of "The Largest Exhibition Center in the South". Alongside the exhibit hall was the Miami Beach Municipal Auditorium, a now-historic venue that hosted The Jackie Gleason Show. In August 1961, the Convention Center was the meeting place for a youth convention set up by The American Lutheran Church. Among the notable speakers was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. From 1960 to 1971, and again in 1997, the center was the site of the Miss Universe pageant. It also hosted a 1961 Billy Graham Crusade and hosted the 1968 Republican National Convention, 1972 Republican National Convention, and the 1972 Democratic National Convention. In 1967, the center was expanded to include the Convention Hall, built specifically for the 1972 Democratic National Convention (in July 1972) and the 1972 Republican National Convention (in August 1972). It also served as a sports arena until the 1980s. In 1989, the facility underwent a $92 million renovation, and doubled in size. In the las