The Cleveland International Exposition Center, which is already one of the largest trade and convention centers in the nation, is gearing up to invest $25 to $30 million in improvements over the next few years.
The projects are set to being this year, with the I-X Center ready to spend nearly $3 million to add a third lane to the main access road, expand and add lights to the parking lots, and upgrade the food courts and restrooms in the gigantic 2.2 million square foot facility.
I-X Center President Robert J. Peterson said in a statement, “Our goal is to grow attendance and become even more of a destination venue by presenting a wide array of spectacular events that appeal to diverse audiences from Northeast Ohio and throughout the Midwest.”
The Center hosts a number of large scale events throughout the year, including the Great Big Home & Garden Expo in February and the Fabulous Food Show (now on its sixth year) in November. The food show is also set to return to Cleveland for a spring version of the event in April 2012.
Peterson said, “Visitors come to the I-X Center from New York, Florida and points in between to see favorite chefs such as Giada De Laurentiis, Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, Guy Fieri, Alton Brown and Cleveland’s own Michael Symon.”
The fifth largest auto show in the country, the Greater Cleveland Auto Show, never fails to draw in car lovers in droves, while families and young people are attracted to the I-X Indoor Amusement Park.
The next major event set to take place at the venue from September 30 to October 3 is the Piston Power Show, featuring hundreds of piston-powered vehicles, a World War II B-17 bomber and a P-51 Mustang.
