CHICAGO — Mid-sized convention centers, with prime exhibit space ranging from 125,000 square feet (sq. ft.) to 349,999 square feet, are available in 36 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. These venues offer trade show organizers a variety of location options as well as the ability to host events for key regional clients.
Midsize centers are prominent in Trade Show Executive’s World’s Top Convention Centers (WTCC) directory. There are 98 midsize convention centers in North America, representing 32.8% of all tracked venues. Mexico is home to the largest midsize venue in North America, Expo Santa Fe México in Mexico City. With 348,750 square feet of prime exhibit space, it is larger than the Portland Expo Center in Oregon (333,000 square feet) and the Vancouver Convention Center in British Columbia (311,500 square feet), the largest midsize facilities in the United States and Canada.
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Several mid-sized facilities are planning expansions in the coming years. The Baird Center in Milwaukee will complete its expansion in May 2024. The center will increase its primary exhibit space to 300,000 square feet, its meeting space to 111,500 square feet, and its multipurpose space to 69,500 square feet. Also in spring 2024, the Savannah Convention Center in Georgia plans to complete its expansion, which will essentially double the venue’s leasable space.
The BMO Alberta Centre at Calgary Stampede Park will complete construction in June 2024. The facility is expanding to 350,000 sq. ft. of premier exhibit space and 80,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, while adding 50,000 sq. ft. of multipurpose space. In July 2024, the Huntington Convention Center in Cleveland plans to complete its development, with an expansion of meeting space to 151,000 sq. ft. and 100,000 sq. ft. of new multipurpose space.
In 2025, Denver’s National Western Complex will enhance its campus with new event spaces and more, adding amenities such as a breeding center, equestrian center, hotel and parking garage. In total, the facility will feature more than 2.2 million square feet of indoor and outdoor space. World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida, will add 80,000 square feet of meeting space in 2025, along with a new hotel that will open in the second quarter of 2024.
Check out the full report on the mid-size convention center in the January issue of TSE magazine.
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To submit a venue for consideration in TSE’s World’s Best Convention Centers directory, email Carson Stoolmiller at carsons@tradeshowexecutive.com.