The Glass City Center is a performing arts and

convention center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

located in downtown

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

. Opened on March 27, 1987, as the SeaGate Convention Centre, the center's exhibit hall measures 74,520 square feet (207 feet by 360 feet) of space and seats up to 5,100 for a

banquet A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

, 9,000 for a meeting, and 4,000 in a classroom configuration. It can be divided into three smaller halls, and when used for

concerts A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or musical band, band. Concerts are held in a w ...

with a 60 foot by 40 foot stage, can seat 2,000 (in one of the smaller halls), 3,000 (in two of the smaller halls), or 5,900 (in the entire hall) for concerts, stage shows, and other shows, this so that there are no bad seats in the house. Many of those seats used for concerts are in telescopic risers; there are 18 telescopic units at the arena, set up in sections of six; as a result, there are six sections of riser seating and a total of 3,216 in the risers (536 per section). The center also features of meeting space. The facility was the host to the following notable events: *

Gathering of the Juggalos The Gathering of the Juggalos (The Gathering or GOTJ) is an annual festival put on by Psychopathic Records, featuring performances by the entire label roster as well as numerous well-known musical groups and underground artists. It was founded by ...

2001 (July 13–15, 2001) *

Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament The Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament is the NCAA Division I postseason single-elimination tournament for the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The winner of the tournament receives the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Divisi ...

(1996-1999, annually) *

Toledo Ice Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

( ABA) (partial 2005–2006 season) *

Glass City Rollers Glass City Rollers (GCR) is a roller derby league based in Toledo, Ohio. Founded in 2007, the league currently consists of a single team which competes against teams from other leagues. Glass City is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Assoc ...

(

WFTDA The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women's flat track roller derby, and association of leagues around the world. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues C ...

) (current tenant) *The center was the site of the annual

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

beginning in 2005. The group canceled its 2020 meeting due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The Park Inn by Radisson hotel attached to the center closed permanently in April 2020. In July, Lucas County Commissioners announced the structure would be renovated to house a 216-room Hilton Garden Inn and 93-room Homewood Suites. They also announced the demolition of the adjacent SeaGate Hotel which has been vacant since 2009. In February 2022, it was announced that the SeaGate Centre would be renamed as the Glass City Center as part of their renovations to the facility. It features a new, 16,000-square-foot ballroom, along with a redesigned exterior and interior of the building.

References

Sports venues in Ohio Convention centers in Ohio Indoor arenas in Ohio College basketball venues in the United States Basketball venues in Ohio Buildings and structures in Toledo, Ohio Tourist attractions in Toledo, Ohio {{Ohio-struct-stub