Schaumburg Convention Center
Schaumburg, Illinois
Thirty minutes northwest of Chicago, the Schaumburg Convention Center offers nearly 150,000 square feet of flexible meeting space alongside a luxury hotel.
When the convention center opened in 2006, one of the first issues that meeting planners encountered was wireless connectivity. The cell phone reception was so weak that attendees often had to move to a window or doorway just to get a signal and make a call.
To address this problem, the convention center installed a Distributed Antenna System, or DAS, which involves placing hundreds of network antennas throughout a given building or area. Though some of these systems are owned by specific network providers, like the one that AT&T owns and operates in Navy Pier, others are neutral and support multiple carriers at once.
In addition to providing a wider range of network coverage, these systems help bolster wireless connection and ensure consistent quality of service, which is vital during large events when thousands of people are using their wireless devices simultaneously.
Since implementing this technology, the Schaumburg Convention Center has built a widespread reputation as one of the premier meeting facilities in the Midwest, particularly catering to unusual arts and cultural events, like the Stamp and Scrapbook Expo, the JFA Transworld Jewelry Show and Stitches, one of the largest knitting and crochet consumer shows in the country. The convention center also hosts Brickworld Chicago, one of five national LEGO conventions, and Minefaire, the official Minecraft community event.
www.schaumburgconventioncenter.com
Greater Richmond Convention Center
Richmond, Virginia
Though trade shows and large exhibitions traditionally take place on a single event floor, more planners are looking for convention centers with adaptable meeting space. Rather than isolating the event in one room or area, planners often like to set up a variety of venues where attendees can engage sponsors, local vendors and speakers.
The Greater Richmond Convention Center in Richmond, Virginia, provides a plethora of staging arrangements within its 300,000-square-foot facility. Planners can take advantage of the facility’s 36 breakout rooms or divide the 178,000-square-foot Exhibit Hall or the 30,550-square-foot Grand Ballroom into smaller sections.
Each exhibit area contains a built-in concession stand, a restroom, a show office and a loading dock, allowing vendors and other patrons to navigate easily throughout the building. The convention center also recently opened a lactation lounge for nursing mothers.
“We try to tell people that we’re not just a big box off the highway,” said Linné Dilorio, director of sales and marketing at the convention center. “We actually have these great breakout rooms with natural light so you don’t feel like you’re being completely enveloped in a huge exhibit hall.”
This flexible layout is great for sports events like cheer and dance competitions, as well as events held by USA Fencing, USA Field Hockey and the Richmond Volleyball Club. And thanks to Richmond’s diverse offering of restaurants, museums, historic landmarks and family attractions, many attendees opt to extend their stays and turn the trip into a family vacation.
“When we see repeat visitors, we’ll ask, ‘What brings you back?’ and often they’ll say, ‘Oh, I was here last year for a conference and fell in love with it, so I decided to book a vacation,” said Dilorio.
Washington County Convention Center
Greenville, Mississippi
Nestled along the historic cotton plantations of the Mississippi Delta, the Washington County Convention Center resides in the county seat of Greenville, Mississippi. What the convention center lacks in size, it compensates for with its diversity of venues. Beyond the facility’s 25,000-square-foot exhibit hall, the 420-acre complex also includes an expansive expo center and horse track, a stock car racetrack, an executive hospitality suite and a baseball park.
The 38,400-square-foot Red Rempson Expo Center frequently hosts livestock, equestrian and agricultural events, and occasionally, even a circus or a rodeo. The arena can accommodate up to 2,500 spectators. In late spring, the Mid-Delta Horse Show Association and the Washington County Mounted Sheriff’s Posse use the horse track in the Red Rempson Expo Center for their annual horse shows.
The Greenville Speedway is a quarter-mile Gumbo oval track with 3,500-seat stands. Racing season begins in early April and concludes in October with the Annual Gumbo Nationals. For smaller events of up to 96 guests, the newly renovated Executive Hospitality Suite provides an elegant, intimate space with an on-site catering area, a ceiling-mounted projector and a 10-seat conference table.
A short distance from the convention center grounds, Warfield Point Park is an 80-acre park along the Mississippi River that draws many groups for after-hours picnics or outdoor concerts. In mid-October each year, the park hosts the Mighty Mississippi Music Festival, one of the signature blues music festivals in the Mississippi Delta.
