Five years after a $1.5 billion expansion, the Javits Center at Hudson Yards continues to expand its capacity. The goal is to invigorate the events business while simultaneously strengthening New York's adjacent hospitality industry. The 3.3 million square-foot facility recently underwent a $5 million technological upgrade. This makes the Javits Center the first convention centre in the US to offer the latest wireless network, Wi-Fi 7, as first reported by Commercial Observer.
The Wi-Fi 7 system, which debuted last month at Fanatics Fest, offers a crucial competitive advantage to attract more conferences and events in the future, explained Joyce Leveston, CEO of the Javits Center. She emphasised the importance of modern connectivity: "Many convention attendees also want the ability to connect remotely to their workplaces. That is not feasible without a state-of-the-art Wi-Fi system."
The technological enhancement is the latest effort by the Javits Center to attract the biggest conferences and events to Manhattan and to provide new impetus for the New York economy. According to estimates by the Javits Center, the events booked there in 2025 led to over 100,000 hotel overnight stays in the New York City region. The expansion of the Javits Center, completed in May 2021, added 1.2 million square feet to the north of the complex, including a 55,000 square-foot ballroom and a glass, sustainable rooftop pavilion, which is considered the largest green roof in the Northeast of the USA.
The positive effect on the hotel industry is already visible at 418 11th Avenue, where a new 455-room Hilton hotel is expected to open within the next three years as part of a larger mixed-use project. Another hotel project, the 379-room Hotel Meta, developed by Marx Development Group, is planned for the nearby 450 11th Avenue. These additional hotel capacities, combined with the revitalisation of Manhattan's West Side through the Hudson Yards Project, should help the Javits Center further expand its convention business in the coming years, according to Leveston.
Joyce Leveston, who was Senior Vice President of Convention Centers at Oak View Group before her role as CEO of the Javits Center, pointed out that the 2021 expansion has enabled a variety of events that were previously not feasible. This is due to the creation of additional meeting rooms and a ballroom for receptions. She highlighted that for its first 35 years, the Javits Center mainly hosted trade shows and fewer "full-fledged conferences," which further underscores the importance of the improved technology.
A clear example of new corporate events that the Javits Center has been able to attract after the expansion is the Cardiac Research Association. This association has hosted its three-day annual medical conference on aortic valve replacement research there for the past three years. This year's conference in June attracted over 3,000 participants and is expected to grow as it becomes an annual institution in New York, according to Leveston.
The transformation of the Javits Center has also attracted major convention events such as Fanatics Fest, which is considered a Comic-Con for sports enthusiasts. This multi-day event, which brings together top athletes for live panels and photo sessions, grew from 70,000 participants in its first year in 2024 to almost 200,000 in July 2026. Lee Perlman, Chairman of the New York Convention Center Operating Convention, expressed his conviction: "Since this expansion, this place is unsurpassed. We are developing this location into an incredible international destination."
