Officials show off $6M center

PALMETTO — A $6.5 million renovation project at the Bradenton Area Convention Center, one of the largest meeting venues in Manatee County, is complete.

The facility, formerly the Manatee Convention Center, has 60,000 square feet of meeting space, according to a release from the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. Interior renovations include a new heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system, in addition to a new arena lighting system, new flooring, paint and wall coverings. Exterior renovations include new gutters and landscaping. Tourism taxes paid for the renovations, which took 18 months.

“I believe the industry and community will agree the end result was well worth the wait,” Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione says in the release. “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.”

The visitors bureau will host an open house 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sept. 12 at the center, in Palmetto, on the banks of the Manatee River. For more information or to RSVP, call 941-722-3244, Ext. 0.