Lexington, Kentucky at a Glance
Location: Central Kentucky
Access: Blue Grass Airport; interstates 75 or 64
Hotel Rooms: Just under 10,000
Contact Info:
VisitLEX
859-233-7299
visitlex.com
Central Bank Center
Built: 1976, renovated 2022
Exhibit Space: 100,000-square-foot exhibit hall
Other Meeting Spaces: 24,000-square-foot ballroom plus 16 breakout rooms with 29,000 total square feet of meeting space
Meeting Hotels
Hyatt Regency Lexington
Guest Rooms: 366
Meeting Space: 26,000 square feet
Hilton Lexington/Downtown
Guest Rooms: 366
Meeting Space: Approximately 19,000 square feet
Marriott Lexington Griffin Gate Golf Resort & Spa
Guest Rooms: 409
Meeting Space: 28,901 square feet
Who’s Meeting in Lexington
Religious Conference Management Association (RCMA) Emerge 2026 Annual Conference
Attendees: 1,000
American Orff-Schulwerk Association 2025 AOSA Professional Development Conference
Attendees: 1,000
American Ambulance Association 2025 AMBUCON Convention
Attendees: 550
Surrounded by picturesque Thoroughbred farms and storied stops along the Bluegrass State’s famed Bourbon Trail, Lexington provides meeting groups with an ideal location from which to sample Kentucky’s many charms.
With a population of around 320,000 — more if you count the influx of students from the University of Kentucky campus, which sits near the city center — Lexington blends the accessibility and charm of a midsize city with the state-of-the-art conference and meeting hosting capabilities one might expect of a much larger urban center.
Destination Highlights
Lexington bills itself as one of the world’s leading horse destinations, and the title is well earned. “From the center of downtown Lexington, you are within 20 minutes of 450 Thoroughbred horse farms,” said Sandy Johnson, director of destination sales for VisitLEX.
Many area horse farms offer tours of their facilities, which groups can opt to book directly through the farm’s website or through a local tour provider, such as Horse Country Inc. or Blue Grass Tours. The Kentucky Horse Park, a 1,200-acre working horse farm roughly 15 minutes north of downtown, offers a daily Parade of Breeds, access to the International Museum of the Horse, opportunities for guided horseback rides and more.
Lexington also offers an ideal gateway to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, since nearly all of Kentucky’s most famed bourbon distilleries, including Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey, Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark, are within an hour’s drive of the city. Several stops, like Town Branch Distillery and Barrel House Distilling, are right in city limits.
In April and October, the revered Keeneland racing facility offers live Thoroughbred racing, giving out-of-town guests the perfect opportunity to see Kentucky’s famed horses in action. Plus, downtown Lexington itself packs plenty of appeal, with easy walkability between major hotels and nearby restaurants, bars, shops and parks.
Major Meeting Spaces
Lexington’s Central Bank Center features 200,000 square feet of downtown meeting and convention space adjacent to the iconic Rupp Arena, home of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team.
Following the completion of a $310 million refurbishment and expansion project in 2022, the Central Bank Center now includes a 100,000-square-foot exhibit hall; a 24,000-square-foot multipurpose ballroom; 29,000 square feet of meeting space spread across 16 breakout rooms; and 55,000 square feet of club and flexible space.
“We went from 66,000 square feet [before the expansion] to 200,000 square feet-plus,” Johnson said. “So, it’s opened Lexington to the possibilities of hosting much larger conferences than we ever did before.”
Rupp Arena can seat 20,500 attendees, while the Central Bank Center can seat up to 7,400 for general sessions or 6,700 in banquet-style capacity.
Despite its size expansion, the convention complex remains easy to navigate, with two downtown hotels — the Hyatt Regency and the Hilton — just steps away. The Hyatt Regency Lexington includes 26,000 square feet of meeting space, while the Hilton Lexington/Downtown offers around 19,000 square feet of dedicated meeting rooms. Roughly two blocks from Central Bank Center, the Lexington Marriott City Center hotel, opened in 2020, includes 11 breakout meeting rooms, with capacity to seat up to 500 guests in a single session.
Distinctive Venues
For groups looking for options beyond downtown, the historic Campbell House Lexington boutique hotel, known for its equestrian-themed design, includes 14 meeting rooms and 27,000 square feet of event space, with capacity for up to 600 attendees for receptions.
Offering easy access via the Interstate 75 and Interstate 64 exchange to the north of downtown, the Marriott Lexington Griffin Gate Golf Resort & Spa features 26 meeting rooms and nearly 29,000 square feet of event space, with capacity to seat 1,000 for banquets or 1,370 for general sessions.
The Manchester, a 125-room boutique hotel completed in 2023 in downtown’s bustling Distillery District, offers 9,000 square feet of event space, including the 7,500-square-foot Grand Hall, which can accommodate up to 300 seated guests.
In addition to traditional hotel and convention center meeting facilities, groups can also book meeting space in one-of-a-kind venues like Keeneland, which boasts a newly constructed Paddock Building; Kroger Field, home of the University of Kentucky football team; Red Mile Gaming & Racing, a historic harness racing track; or The Kentucky Castle, a castle-style boutique hotel and event venue surrounded by horse country in nearby Versailles — only about 15 minutes from downtown.
For presentations best delivered in theater-style seating, groups can book event space at locations such as the Kentucky Theatre — a beloved, fully restored 1920s-era downtown theater that specializes in screening classic and independent films — or the University of Kentucky Singletary Center for the Arts, where the main concert hall can seat 1,500 guests.
A bit farther away, Castle & Key Distillery in Frankfort, approximately 25 miles from downtown Lexington, includes options for both indoor and outdoor meeting spaces on its picturesque and historic distillery grounds, which have been wowing bourbon tourists since the 1880s.
After the Meeting
In the evening, groups can unwind at LexLive entertainment complex, just steps away from Central Bank Center. With 10 movie theaters, 13 bowling lanes and three bars, the facility offers an ideal location for post-meeting networking.
Downtown Lexington is also home to some of the city’s most celebrated restaurants, including Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse, Tony’s of Lexington, Dudley’s on Short, Corto Lima and Carson’s Food & Drink. Exceptional craft cocktails also abound downtown, at the likes of Belle’s Cocktail House and Harvey’s Bar at the Grove.
History aficionados can while away a few non-meeting hours touring downtown’s Mary Todd Lincoln House, the childhood home of President Abraham Lincoln’s wife, or Ashland, the estate of famed 19th-century Kentucky statesman Henry Clay. At Ashland, guests can opt for guided tours of the fully restored, picturesque antebellum mansion or simply take a self-guided stroll through its lovely, curated gardens.
Gatton Park on the Town Branch, a newly built, 12-acre public park near Rupp Arena, also offers an ideal green space for a post-meeting walk. It includes a Great Lawn with tiered seating plus walking trails with scenic overlooks of Town Branch Creek. Frequently, the park hosts free, live music performances on its central stage.
