Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

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The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is a collection of buildings in New Orleans, Louisiana.

A portion of the Morial Convention Center Complex from Convention Center Boulevard

The lower end of building one is located 500 m (1640 feet) upriver from Canal Street on the banks of the Mississippi River. Named after former mayor of New Orleans Ernest N. Morial, as of 2006 it has about 1.1 million square feet (102,000 m²) of exhibit space, covers almost 11 blocks, and a gross amount of over 3 million square feet (280,000 m²) of total space.

The convention center was planned starting in 1978. It is the 16th largest facility of its kind in the United States, and as of early 2005 was the 2nd busiest. The first building was constructed as part of the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition; a series of additional buildings further up river expanded the Convention Center complex in subsequent decades.

On August 26 through 27, 2005, Wheel of Fortune came to tape three weeks of shows at the convention center. But as Hurricane Katrina was threatening the area, they cancelled the last week in order to evacuate. In the aftermath of Katrina the Convention Center was the second most important center to collect the survivors, after the Louisiana Superdome. After some time serving as a temporary medical clinic, the structure again started welcoming conventions in early 2006, including that of the American Library Association.

The convention center is currently in an expansion, including over 1.6 million square feet (150,000 m²) of exhibit space and a 60,000 square-foot (6,000 m²) ballroom. The expansion was planned to end by 2006, although there may be delays due to post-Katrina needs of infrastructure repairs around the city.