NASHVILLE (BP) — A major renovation project is forcing the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting to move from Salt Lake City in 2027, according to the SBC Executive Committee. Messengers to the 2025 SBC annual meeting will be asked to allow the meeting to move to Indianapolis, the 2024 host city.
“We regret the annual meeting had to move from the western part of the country, but we were unable to find any options in the West on such short notice,” SBC Executive Committee President Jeff Iorg told Baptist Press.
The Salt Palace and the surrounding downtown area will undergo a significant makeover that will include 6.5 acres of the current facility footprint, according to local authorities.
“Partial demolition of the existing building could begin as early as 2027, and the new Salt Palace could be completed by 2031, according to preliminary projections,” reported KSL-TV.
Since 2021, annual meetings have averaged just under 12,000 messengers per year with another 11,000-plus expected this summer in Dallas. This requires at least 200,000 square feet of meeting space in addition to 250,000 square feet of exhibit space, according to EC staff. The renovations scheduled for the Salt Palace will reduce the total available space to just over 200,000 square feet total.
The 2027 meeting in Salt Lake City would have been the second time the meeting had been in the West during the 2020s, the other being Anaheim, Calif., in 2022.
“We are grateful we have such a good alternative as Indianapolis. We are working on returning to the West as soon as we can schedule it,” Iorg said.
Messengers will also be asked to approve St. Louis and San Antonio as future meeting sites at the 2025 annual meeting. If approved, the meeting schedule for the next four years would be:
- 2026 in Orlando
- 2027 in Indianapolis
- 2028 in St. Louis
- 2029 in San Antonio
The 2025 SBC annual meeting is set for June 10-11 in Dallas.
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Brandon Porter serves as Vice President for Communications at the SBC Executive Committee.)
