The International Exposition Center, better known as the I-X Center, is a convention and exhibition hall located in Cleveland, Ohio, adjacent to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The building includes over total square feet of exhibition and conference space, making it one of the largest meeting, convention, and exhibition centers in the United States. The diverse show schedule includes public events featuring one of the country's largest boat shows, trade shows, banquets and meetings attracting over 2 million visitors each year. Originally located within Brook Park, Ohio, the building and of neighboring land became part of Cleveland in a 2001 land swap that sent most of the NASA Glenn Research Center to Brook Park.
History
It was built in 1942 as a General Motors-operated factory and was used to build bombers during World War II as the Cleveland Bomber Plant. For a time, it built the wing assembly for the B-29 Superfortress, then the experimental XP-75. It later served for many years as a tank factory. The M41 Walker Bulldog, M56 Scorpion, M114, the MOG Howitzer, and the M551 Sheridan were built at the facility. Former employees of the tank plant reported that there were at least two, maybe three basement levels. One basement had a large pool in it for testing water-tightness of production tanks. It was vacant from 1970 to 1977, when it was purchased by Park Corp. with the intention of converting it into an exhibition hall. It re-opened in 1985 as the I-X Center. The Park Corp. sold the building to the City of Cleveland in 2001, but continues to lease and operate it. In 1990, the I-X Center was used as a temporary home for North Olmsted High School. On September 16, 1990, two students had set fire to the front of the high school, causing significant damage. A 2008 expansion added of exhibition space, increasing the exhibition floor to. The entire ceiling was repainted for the first time since 1984, using 27,000 gallons of paint. On May 3–4, 2014, the I-X Center hosted the first ever Pro Football Hall of Fame Fan Fest, which featured appearances by 100 NFL Hall of Famers including Jim Brown, Joe Namath, Barry Sanders, Lynn Swann, Marshall Faulk, Franco Harris, Warren Sapp and Terry Bradshaw. The successful campaign to bring the event to the I-X Center was spearheaded by Cleveland native Tony Gumina. The Center has also hosted the National Sports Collectors Convention six times, with its seventh show coming in Summer 2018.
The building's tall Ferris wheel is a centerpiece of the annual IX Indoor Amusement Park. It premiered at the 1992 Greater Cleveland Auto Show, at which time it was the world's tallest indoor Ferris wheel. The top of the wheel is enclosed in a glass atrium and rises approximately above the main roof. It usually does not operate during trade shows.
