Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia
The recently renovated Pennsylvania Convention Center offers more than 1 million square feet of sellable space and some 528,000 contiguous square feet of exhibition space located in the heart of Philadelphia within 10 miles of Revolutionary War-era sites, Chinatown and popular retail stores. The site’s seven exhibition halls provide nearly 680,000 square feet of event space, and it has two ballrooms of up to 55,000 square feet in size and 79 meeting rooms. Some 45 loading docks mean deliveries can be made on time. There are about 30,000 hotel rooms in the city, including more than 10,000 in the city center and nearly 9,000 within a 10-minute walk of the convention center. Recent energy-conservation measures have reduced the facility’s energy usage by more than a third.
Chase Center, Wilmington, Delaware
Located about halfway between New York City and Washington D.C., the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, offers 33,000 square feet of exhibition space and easily accessible loading bays for easier show setups. The facility has a total of 87,000 square feet of versatile space capable of being customized for corporate meetings, conferences, tradeshows and conventions. The Chase Center has 2,400 spaces of free parking and 10 meeting rooms, including an executive boardroom, of up to 1,900 square feet and furnished with maple tables and chairs and a 266-seat auditorium. Food services are provided by a culinary team comprised of CIA-certified chefs capable of tailoring menus for event needs, and audio-visual services are provided by Riverfront Audio Visual, which has state-of-the-art equipment available. The Wilmington area has more than 6,000 hotel rooms.
Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Located in downtown Providence, the Rhode Island Convention Center is a multi-use facility that can host tradeshows, exhibitions, meetings, conventions and other events and is connected to nearby hotels, retail stores and entertainment venues via a sky bridge. The site has more than 100,000 square feet of exhibition space, a 20,000-square-foot ballroom, 23 meetings rooms and 30,000 square feet of prefunction space. The facility also has an on-site catering team to provide good food for special events, and exhibitor services, such as electrical, telephones, cleaning, Internet and other services can be ordered and provided by in-house staff. The city of Providence has more than 5,500 hotel rooms available, including more than 2,000 within walking distance of the convention center.
Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey
First opened in 1997 upon completion of the $268 million construction project, the Atlantic City Convention Center was designed and built to reflect the city’s seaside location and is part of a multi-billion redevelopment plan that includes new retail and entertainment projects. Managed by SMG, the convention center has 500,000 square feet of contiguous space and occupies about 31 acres of land. Five second-floor exhibit halls ranging in size from just over 29,000 square feet to nearly 200,000 square feet are available for exhibitions and other events. The site has 45 meeting rooms totaling nearly 110,000 square feet of combined space, and recent “green” upgrades include installing possibly the largest single rooftop solar array in the nation to reduce energy costs.
Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford, Connecticut
The 540,000-square-foot Connecticut Convention Center boasts being the largest full-service hotel and convention facility located between New York City and Boston and is attached to its headquarters hotel, the Hartford Marriot Downtown. The convention center has a 140,000-square-foot exhibition hall, a 40,000-square-foot ballroom and has 25,000 square feet of meeting space and an attached parking garage with 2,600 parking spaces. The $271 million convention center first opened in 2005 and is part of a planned $775 million, 30-acre state-backed project that includes plans for retail stores and entertainment venues, many of which already have been built and are operational. The adjacent, 409-room Marriot Hartford Downtown recently earned a four-diamond rating from AAA.
Javits Center, New York City, New York
First opened in 1986, the Javits Center has hosted thousands of tradeshows, including many of the top 200 tradeshows annually held around the globe. The center has 840,000 square feet of exhibition space that can be divided into 10 separate halls and a special events hall capable of seating up to 3,200 for theater-style meetings and up to 1,700 for banquets. The facility’s 75 meeting rooms have flexible walls to adjust room sizes for event needs, and the 110,000-square-foot Javits Center North structure offers 80,000 square feet of event space. Currently under renovation, the Javits Center is planned to have the largest “green” rooftop in New York City as well as many mechanical, electrical, plumbing and lighting upgrades designed to reduce the site’s energy use by about 25 percent when the renovations are completed in 2013.
