NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) has earned its third consecutive ConventionSouth’s 2023 Readers’ Choice Award, the magazine’s highest honor. More than 8,000 votes were cast by venue professionals to decide year’s Readers’ Choice winners – the most votes ever cast for this award. The recognition reflects the Convention Center’s continued commitment to professionalism, innovation and service.
ConventionSouth is the leading national multimedia resource for planning events in the South. Based in Gulf Shores, Ala., the magazine is distributed nationwide to more than 18,000 meeting professionals.
“We promised to make transformative investments in our facilities, our employees and our community,” said Michael J. Sawaya, Convention Center President and CEO. “Those endeavors continue to garner recognition from industry peers. Being selected again by the professionals who plan events underscores our ongoing dedication to excellence and the pursuit of being a leader in the meeting, convention and event market industry.”
The ongoing $557 million Capital Improvement Plan continues to reshape the Convention Center with state-of-the-art facility enhancements and innovative technological integrations. The project has already seen the well-received completion of a 7.5-acre pedestrian park and the renovation of 35 sets of restrooms, along with energy-efficient lighting upgrades. Ongoing projects include a $40 million energy-saving roof replacement and improvements to all 140 meeting rooms and public spaces.
Following several energy-smart improvements, the NOEMCC earned its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification in 2022 from the U.S. Green Building Council. NOENMCC is now the largest LEED-certified project in Louisiana, the largest convention center project in the U.S. certified under LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance and the first convention center in the world to be awarded an initial certification under LEED v4.1 O+M.
In addition to being Built to Host, the Convention Center also is a leader in driving economic impact by creating opportunities for Louisiana’s small, emerging and disadvantaged business enterprises (SEBs) through multiple programs, including the SEBConnect smartphone app. Since 2019, over $52 million in contracts have been awarded to SEBs.
Read more about the Convention Center’s Readers’ Choice Award in ConventionSouth magazine’s December Awards Issue.
###