The San Jose McEnery Convention Center (commonly known simply as the San Jose Convention Center) is a
convention center in
Downtown San Jose,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. The facility is the largest convention center in
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
. It is known for hosting high-profile technology conferences and events like the
Apple Worldwide Developers Conference and
Facebook F8
Facebook F8 is a mostly-annual conference held by Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) since 2007, intended for developers and entrepreneurs who build products and services around the website. The event has generally started with a keynote speec ...
, as well as non-tech events like
FanimeCon
FanimeCon is an annual four-day anime convention held during May at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California over Memorial Day weekend.
Programming
The convention typically offers an AMV contest, artist's alley, contest ...
and
Silicon Valley Comic Con.
The San Jose Convention Center opened in 1989, replacing a convention hall of the same name at
San Jose Civic. It is named after
Tom McEnery
Thomas Andrew McEnery (born September 23, 1945) is an American author, businessman, and teacher from San Jose, California, who served as the 61st mayor of that city from 1983 to 1991.
McEnery attended Santa Clara University, graduating with a B. ...
, a former
mayor of San Jose
The Mayor of San Jose, officially the Mayor of the City of San José, is executive of the Government of the City of San Jose, California in the United States.
The mayor presides over the San Jose City Council, which is composed of 11 voting m ...
. The South Hall opened in 2005, and the main hall was renovated and expanded in 2013.
Team San Jose manages the convention center along with several nearby event centers.
Facility
The convention center covers , including of exhibit space, 31 meeting rooms, and banquet facilities for some 5,000. There are entrances on West San Carlos Street, Almaden Boulevard, and South Market Street. The San Jose
Hilton and
Marriott
Marriott may refer to:
People
*Marriott (surname)
Corporations
* Marriott Corporation, founded as Hot Shoppes, Inc. in 1927; split into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation in 1993
* Marriott International, international hote ...
hotels both adjoin the convention center. A two-story hallway connecting the three entrances is called the "Parkway" on the ground floor and the "Concourse" on the second floor.
A recessed main entrance along West San Carlos Street features two prominent art installations. A
tile mural
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...
by
Lin Utzon
Lin Utzon (born 21 May 1946) is a Danish designer who has created a wide variety of abstract decorative works from textiles to ceramics both in Denmark and abroad.
Personal life and education
Born on 21 May 1946 in the Frederiksberg district of C ...
(1988) adorns a façade surrounding the entrance. The two-story-tall mural, resembling a flock of birds in flight, consists of over 8,000 red, white, and black
porcelain tile
Porcelain tiles or ceramic tiles are porcelain or ceramic tiles commonly used to cover floors and walls, with a water absorption rate of less than 0.5 percent. The clay used to build porcelain tiles is generally denser. They can either be g ...
s manufactured by
Royal Copenhagen
Royal Copenhagen, officially the Royal Porcelain Factory ( da, Den Kongelige Porcelænsfabrik), is a Danish manufacturer of porcelain products and was founded in Copenhagen in 1775 under the protection of Danish Dowager Queen Juliane Marie. It i ...
. An
interactive sculpture, ''Idea Tree'' by South Korean architect Soo-in Yang, stands in the plaza fronting the entrance. In the lobby hangs a 1993 life-size bronze and steel sculpture, ''Winged Guardian'' by
Stephen De Staebler
Stephen De Staebler (March 24, 1933 – May 13, 2011) was an American sculptor, printmaker, and educator, he was best recognized for his work in clay and bronze. Totemic and fragmented in form, De Staebler's figurative sculptures call forth the m ...
.
The South Hall, a metal-framed fabric structure, adds another of exhibit space, for a joint total of . It can accommodate 11,428 people, or 5,333 people with exhibits.
It is surrounded by a public parking lot on a site.
City leaders have called for the South Hall's demolition at various times since it was erected in 2005 as a temporary structure;
nevertheless, the city considers it important for attracting large events to the convention center. The South Hall and surrounding parking lot are owned by the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency (SARA) of San Jose.
The South Hall's maintenance costs $38,000 each year, while demolition is estimated to cost at least $1 million.
The convention center is located one block from the San Carlos Street exit of
California State Route 87
State Route 87 (SR 87), known as the Guadalupe Freeway or referred to by the locals as Highway 87, is a north–south state highway in San Jose, California, United States. Before being upgraded to a freeway, it was Guadalupe Parkway (and some ...
and two blocks from the Almaden Boulevard exit of southbound
Interstate 280.
California State Route 82
State Route 82 (SR 82) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from Interstate 880 (I-880) in San Jose to I-280 in San Francisco following the San Francisco Peninsula. It is the spinal arterial road of the peninsula and ru ...
also passed by the convention center on South Market Street until this portion of the route was relinquished to San Jose in 2013. The public Convention Center Parking Garage is connected to the convention center. Public surface parking lots are located across Almaden Boulevard to the west and across Viola Street surrounding the South Hall.
The convention center is accessible by public transportation. The
Convention Center VTA light rail
VTA Light Rail is a light rail system in San Jose and nearby cities in Santa Clara County, California. It is operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, or VTA, and consists of of network comprising three main lines on stand ...
station is located directly in front of the convention center's main entrance on West San Carlos Street. The station is served by the
Blue Line and
Green Line. The station is two stops away from the intermodal
San Jose Diridon station
San Jose Diridon station is the central passenger rail depot for San Jose, California. It also serves as a major intermodal transit center for Santa Clara County and Silicon Valley. The station is named after former Santa Clara County Supervisor ...
. The convention center is also served by
VTA local and express bus routes,
San Jose State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...
's free Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH), and a
Bay Wheels
Bay Wheels is a regional public bicycle sharing system in California's San Francisco Bay Area. It is operated by Motivate in a partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Bay Whe ...
bicycle sharing station across West San Carlos Street.
History
The first general-purpose event center in San Jose was the Santa Clara County Horticultural Society's Horticultural Hall, which operated for about 30 years from 1886 until the
Santa Clara County Fairgrounds opened. Civic Auditorium served as the city's main events venue from its opening in 1933 as Municipal Auditorium.
In 1957, voters approved a
bond
Bond or bonds may refer to:
Common meanings
* Bond (finance), a type of debt security
* Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States
* Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...
measure for the construction of a modern convention center. Construction on the Jay McCabe Convention Hall began in December 1952, and the facility opened in 1964 with the
Loyal Order of Moose
The Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888 and headquartered in Mooseheart, Illinois.
Moose International supports the operation of Mooseheart Child City & School, a community for children and teen ...
national convention.
With the opening of the
Anaheim Convention Center
The Anaheim Convention Center is a major convention center in Anaheim, California and is the largest exhibition facility on the West Coast of the United States. It is located across from the Disneyland Resort on Katella Avenue. The original com ...
in 1967, city officials became dissatisfied with Civic Auditorium and McCabe Hall and sought a replacement. Based on a study by
Stanford Research Institute
SRI International (SRI) is an American nonprofit scientific research institute and organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The trustees of Stanford University established SRI in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic ...
in 1970, the city commissioned architect William Hedley and
Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum
HOK, formerly Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum and legally HOK Group, Inc., is an American design, architecture, engineering, and urban planning firm, founded in 1955.
As of 2018, HOK is the largest U.S.-based architecture-engineering f ...
to draw up plans for a "Community Plaza"
superblock centered around a new convention hall. In October 1973, Mayor
Norman Mineta
Norman Yoshio Mineta ( ja, 峯田 良雄, November 12, 1931 – May 3, 2022) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Mineta served in the United States Cabinet for Presidents Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and George W. Bush, a ...
approved $2.4 million for the new convention hall, which would be a wing of Civic Auditorium (now called
San Jose Civic), along with an underground parking structure. However, by November 1974, the plans had been downsized to a mere of exhibit space and an above-ground parking garage. The new San Jose Convention Center broke ground on November 18, 1975, and was dedicated by Mayor
Janet Gray Hayes
Janet Gray Hayes (July 12, 1926 – April 21, 2014) was the 60th mayor of San Jose, California, elected to two consecutive, four-year terms from 1975 to 1983. She was both the first woman to be elected mayor San Jose, and the first woman elec ...
on September 22, 1977.
The second and current San Jose Convention Center was approved by Mayor
Tom McEnery
Thomas Andrew McEnery (born September 23, 1945) is an American author, businessman, and teacher from San Jose, California, who served as the 61st mayor of that city from 1983 to 1991.
McEnery attended Santa Clara University, graduating with a B. ...
in 1983 as part of an
urban renewal
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
project that displaced a low-income, Hispanic neighborhood.
The convention center was designed by
Mitchell
Mitchell may refer to:
People
*Mitchell (surname)
*Mitchell (given name)
Places Australia
* Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate
* Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst
* Mitchell, Northern Territo ...
/
Giurgola Architects,
Daniel Mann Johnson Mendenhall, and the Steinberg Group.
Blount Construction was the general contractor. The new convention center cost $ (equivalent to $ in ) to build, of which the San Jose
Redevelopment Agency
A redevelopment agency is a government body dedicated to urban renewal. Typically it is a municipal level city department focused on a particular district or corridor that has become neglected or blighted (a community redevelopment agency or CRA) ...
contributed $ ($). It opened in 1989.
Meanwhile, the 1977 convention center was renamed
Parkside Hall. "The Garage", now
The Tech Interactive
The Tech Interactive (formerly The Tech Museum of Innovation, commonly known as The Tech) is a science and technology center that offers hands-on activities, labs, design challenges and other STEAM education resources. It is located in downtown Sa ...
, moved into McCabe Hall in 1990.
In 1991, the San Jose Convention Center was renamed the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in honor of the former mayor.
In its early years, the new convention center failed to meet attendance and revenue expectations.
By 2002, many
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
businesses were choosing the much larger
Moscone Center
The George R. Moscone Convention Center (pronounced ), popularly known as the Moscone Center, is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California. The complex consists of three main halls spread out across three block ...
in San Francisco over the San Jose Convention Center due to the latter's limited space. A ballot measure to finance an expansion via a
hotel tax failed to reach the required two-thirds majority to pass. In June 2005,
Team San Jose built the South Hall, a $6.77 million, blue and white tent, adding of exhibit space.
In 2009, local hotels agreed to a hotel tax increase to fund the convention center's renovation and expansion. On October 10, 2013, the convention center completed the $130 million project, which added on the site of the former Martin Luther King Jr. Library. The
San José Public Library
The San José Public Library ( es, Biblioteca Pública de San José) is the public library system of San Jose, California, made up of 23 branch libraries spread across the city.
Organization
Its central library, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library ...
relocated its main branch to the
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library on the
San Jose State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...
campus.
In 2018, SARA put the South Hall site up for sale.
Events
The convention center hosts hundreds of events each year,
including the following annual events:
* Silicon Valley International Auto Show in January
*
Furcon in January
*
Silicon Valley Comic Con in March (2016–2018), August (from 2019)
*
Facebook F8
Facebook F8 is a mostly-annual conference held by Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) since 2007, intended for developers and entrepreneurs who build products and services around the website. The event has generally started with a keynote speec ...
in April or May (since 2017)
* Big Wow! ComicFest in May
*
FanimeCon
FanimeCon is an annual four-day anime convention held during May at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California over Memorial Day weekend.
Programming
The convention typically offers an AMV contest, artist's alley, contest ...
during
Memorial Day
Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...
weekend in May (since 2004)
*
Apple Worldwide Developers Conference May (1989–2002), June (2017–2019)
*
Crunchyroll Expo
Crunchyroll Expo (CRX) is an annual three-day anime convention held during August/September at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California over Labor Day weekend. The convention is organized by anime licensor Crunchyroll and L ...
in August or September (since 2018)
Other notable events at the convention center have included:
* 1993 and 1996
Windows Hardware Engineering Conference
The Windows Hardware Engineering Community (WinHEC) is a series of technical conferences and workshops, where Microsoft elaborates on its hardware plans for Windows devices.
The WinHEC from 1992 to 2008, which stood for Windows Hardware Engineerin ...
* 1997
ACM/IEEE Supercomputing Conference
* 1998
LinuxWorld Conference and Expo
LinuxWorld Conference and Expo (renamed to OpenSource World in its final year) was a conference and trade show that focused on open source and Linux solutions in the information technology sector. It ran from 1998 to 2009, in venues around th ...
*
2002 and
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
World Science Fiction Convention
* 2004 and 2006
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tuto ...
* 2013
Creative Convergence Silicon Valley
*
WrestleMania Axxess
WrestleMania Axxess is a professional wrestling fan convention held by WWE during the week of WrestleMania. The event typically runs for four days—from Thursday to WrestleMania Sunday—and features WWE talent and alumni autograph signings, int ...
for
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...
's
WrestleMania 31
WrestleMania 31 was the 31st annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It took place on March 29, 2015, at Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area town of Santa Clara, California. Nine ...
in 2015
* 2016
Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
The ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) series of academic conferences is generally considered the most prestigious in the field of human–computer interaction and is one of the top-ranked conferences in computer science. ...
* A
rally
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade
* Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event
Sport ...
for
Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign
The 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump was formally launched on June 16, 2015, at Trump Tower in New York City. Trump was the Republican nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election, having won the most state prim ...
that prompted rioting
*
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
3 and 4 in 2016 and 2017, respectively; The final day of the tournament occurred at
City National Civic
* 2018
TwitchCon
TwitchCon is a semi-annual gaming convention for the livestreaming video platform Twitch. The convention is organized by Twitch Interactive and focuses on the general culture of livestreaming and video gaming. TwitchCon also serves as an oppo ...
* The NHL Fan Fair for the
2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game was held at SAP Center in San Jose, home of the San Jose Sharks on January 26, 2019. San Jose last held the NHL All Star Game in 1997. This was the fourth consecutive All-Star Game that used a four-te ...
See also
*
List of convention centers in the United States
This is a list of convention centers in the United States by state or insular area.
By state Alabama
*Bald Rock Lodge (Cheaha State Park)
* Bessemer Civic Center
*Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex
*Bryant Convention Center (Tuscaloos ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Downtown San Jose
Convention centers in California
Buildings and structures in San Jose, California
Economy of San Jose, California
Tourist attractions in San Jose, California
Event venues established in 1989
1989 establishments in California