Award-Winning Long Beach Convention Center is Hosting the International Code Council’s 2024 Annual Conference

For conferences, the Long Beach Convention Center offers more than 400,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space. The International Code Council will be taking full advantage of that space when the 2024 Annual Conference, Expo and Committee Action Hearings kick off on October 20 and is expected to be the biggest yet.

The Long Beach Convention Center’s roots date back to 1905 when the first Municipal Auditorium opened. At that time, the surrounding Long Beach area was bustling with a popular amusement park, The Pike, which featured one of America’s first roller coasters.

A second Municipal Auditorium opened roughly three decades later in 1932, replacing the original. In the 1950s, Elvis Presley and Judy Garland were among the recording artists who performed sold-out shows at the new Municipal Auditorium. Elvis returned to the city in the 1970s and performed multiple shows at the Long Beach Arena, which opened in 1962 and became the first building in the Convention Center complex. The second Municipal Auditorium was then demolished in 1975 to make way for the Long Beach Convention Center.

The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, the Grateful Dead, Iron Maiden, Run-D.M.C., The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J and Led Zeppelin are among the musicians that have graced Long Beach Arena’s impressive stage. With a seating capacity of 13,500, the venue provides a large, yet somewhat intimate, experience for fans and performers alike.

An Award-Winning Venue with More to Come

Conference attendees will enjoy a world-class experience that’s garnered more consecutive Stella Awards, which honor excellence in the meetings and events industry, than any other convention center. The Long Beach Convention Center features exquisite and modern architecture across a variety of indoor and outdoor event spaces, including the Beverly O’Neill Theater, an 825-seat theater that’s perfect for small engagements.

Musicians aren’t the only legends to have performed at the Long Beach Convention Center. The complex also includes the Terrace Theater, which offers seating for more than 3,000 guests and has welcomed one of the all-time greats in standup comedy: Richard Pryor. He filmed his famous, genre-defining special, “Richard Pryor: Here and Now,” at the Terrace Theater in 1983. More than 40 years later, it’s still regarded as one of the most memorable and influential comedy specials ever recorded, and it is forever a part of the Long Beach Convention Center’s incredible history.

The Long Beach Convention Center has been renovated twice since its inception and is scheduled for future improvements ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics. The City of Long Beach has amassed $747 million in funds to prepare for the games and will allocate $50 million to enhance the Convention Center and an additional $2 million to improve its parking garage. The full event list has yet to be revealed, but plans are in place for Handball and Sport Climbing.

While the Olympics may be four years away, there are plenty of fun things to do in the area. Conference attendees can visit the Lions Lighthouse, a decorative lighthouse less than half a mile from the Long Beach Convention Center, to take in the wondrous views that the city has to offer. The Aquarium of the Pacific is just as close, and for those who want to feel the sand in between their toes, they need not look any further than Alamitos Beach.

Celebrating 30 Years at the 2024 Conference, Expo and Committee Action Hearings

The Code Council is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary with a year-long celebration and promises to deliver the biggest and best conference yet. Featured at this year’s conference will be a 30th-anniversary exhibit where visitors can explore artifacts from the Code Council’s history and participate in the creation of a time capsule to commemorate this milestone.

This year’s conference is jam-packed with invaluable educational sessions and career resources, as well as special networking events, unforgettable speakers and historic building tours that highlight the best Long Beach has to offer. One of the tours features an excursion with Harbor Breeze Cruises, a whale-watching cruise that uses custom-built high-speed vessels to cover waters north to Santa Monica and south to Newport Beach. Less than half a mile from the Convention Center, Harbor Breeze Cruises provides guests with the chance to see Pacific Gray Whales, Blue Whales, Humpback Whales, dolphins and more.

Other tours include a visit to the Long Beach City Hall & Port of Long Beach Administration Building, the Queen Mary, and Rancho Los Alamitos, which is listed twice on the National Register of Historic Places.

With classroom capacity clocking in at 2,000 seats, the Long Beach Convention Center is perfect for the many conference education sessions taking place throughout the event. Attendees can earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) by participating in the building tours, insight sessions, Annual Business Meeting or conference education program. They can also earn CEUs by participating in or by attending the code hearings, which run from October 23 through October 31.

The 2024 International Code Council Annual Conference, Expo and Committee Action Hearings run from October 20 through October 31 at the Long Beach Convention Center. Learn more here.