UPDATE: In a special called meeting on April 28, the SBC Executive Committee approved the relocation of the 2023 meeting to New Orleans.
The Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting has had a growth spurt in recent years, which is why the committee tasked with choosing a location is looking to upsize in 2023.
The Charlotte (North Carolina) Convention Center has been scheduled to host the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting. However, the 280,000-square-foot facility is not large enough to host the event, which is expected to draw more than 15,000 attendees.
Special called meeting
As a result, the SBC Executive Committee will hold a special called meeting April 28 to discuss the relocation of the 2023 meeting to New Orleans.
“New Orleans easily meets the four main objectives for a host city,” said Jonathan Howe, vice president for communications for the SBC Executive Committee. “We look for cities with ample space, with available dates, with available hotels, and that are in proximity to Southern Baptists. New Orleans was the only city in the southeast United States that met those criteria just 14 months from the scheduled gathering.”
Howe told Baptist Press that New Orleans boasts more than 4,000 hotel rooms within a 10-minute walk and more than 500,000 square feet of space for events at the convention center — easily meeting the needs of convention attendees and organizers.
Executive Committee Chairman Rolland Slade announced the meeting today (April 18).
The meeting announcement also indicated EC members would receive financial updates, legal updates, personnel updates and details related to the June EC meeting.
The April 28 meeting, to be held over Zoom, will not be livestreamed.
