The Pasadena Convention Center has reopened after a $150 million expansion designed by the Los Angeles office of Fentress Architects, which specializes in buildings surrounded by historical structures.
After the expansion, the convention center has 60,000 square feet of exhibit space and 25 breakout rooms. The new exhibit hall is divisible in two sections, and sits near a new 25,000-square-foot grand ballroom. The convention center complex's 28,000-square-foot conference building offers 19 meeting rooms on two levels. The 3,000-seat Pasadena Civic Auditorium—right for general sessions and other events—is adjacent, and its Gold Room that holds about 250 for receptions.
Included in the expansion was the creation of the new ballroom, divisible in 10 sections. To show it off, the center invited 800 guests—many of them past and potential clients—for a gala dinner Friday evening. At the event, a subtle palette of gray and white was partly inspired by the convention center’s gray mesh chairs, made from recycled car parts, part of the venue’s green initiative. The dinner highlighted a weekend of opening celebrations.
