Press Release: 6/11/2025

Boston Convention & Exhibition Center to be renamed the Thomas Michael Menino Convention and Exhibition Center

 

 

The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) is pleased to announce that the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC) will be renamed as the Thomas Michael Menino Convention and Exhibition Center in honor of Thomas Menino, who served as Mayor of Boston from 1993 to 2014, and was the city’s longest serving mayor. An event to officially mark the name change will be held on Saturday, July 12.

 

“Mayor Menino loved Boston deeply, and he made our city into the global hub for business, commerce and tourism that we know it to be today,” said Governor Maura Healey. “I was honored to sign this law renaming the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center after Mayor Menino because it is a wonderful way to pay tribute to his amazing legacy and send a strong message that Boston is a place to be for people and businesses from around the world.”

 

“Mayor Menino’s love for Boston, care for every resident and every neighborhood, and belief in our City’s future forever changed Boston,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. “He guided our City through some of the hardest times in our history, and led the way for a future generation of leaders. His legacy will now live on in another new way, representing a convention center that welcomes people and collaborations from around the world.”

 

In the fall of 2024, the Massachusetts Legislature passed H.5100, An Act relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership, which included language to rename the BCEC in honor of Mayor Menino in recognition of his leadership in advocating for the development of the convention center.

 

“While there are many places and ways we can honor Tom Menino’s legacy of leadership and love for the City of Boston, I can think of none better than to lend his name to the Convention and Exhibition Center,” said State Representative Aaron Michlewitz. “A true expression of his vision to always drive Boston to be a more vibrant, healthy and welcoming city.”

 

“The Waterfront would not be what it is today without the late Mayor Tom Menino,” said State Senator Nick Collins. “Mayor Menino partnered with legislative leaders like Congressman Stephen F. Lynch and former state Senator Jack Hart, bringing together city and state government with industry and the community to create a lasting impact on our local and state economy. It is an appropriate tribute to the role he played in the BCEC’s creation. That’s why so many of our colleagues in the Legislature joined in supporting the renaming with a near unanimous vote on the economic development bill last session.”

 

“Our entire family is grateful for this incredible honor,” said Angela Menino, wife of the late and former Mayor Thomas Menino. “Tommy believed in the potential of every neighborhood in our city, and in the power of development to improve people's lives. We thank our legislative leadership for acknowledging his legacy and his vision for how this convention center would lead to the transformation of Boston's Seaport."

 

“Last year, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the opening of the BCEC which would not have been possible without the leadership of Mayor Menino,” said Marcel Vernon, Sr., Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. “It is a fitting tribute that the convention and exhibition center he championed will now carry his name and we look forward to hosting the commemoration event in July.”

 

In 2024, the BCEC hosted 136 events, welcoming over 500,000 attendees to Boston.