Durham, North Carolina at a Glance

Location: Central North Carolina

Access: Raleigh-Durham International Airport; Interstates 85 and 40

Major Meeting Spaces: Durham Convention Center, Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, JB Duke Hotel, Sheraton Imperial Hotel Raleigh-Durham Airport at Research Triangle Park

Hotel Rooms: 8,000+

Off-Site Venues: Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Carolina Theatre, Mystic Farm & Distillery, Museum of Life and Science

Contact Info:

Discover Durham

919-687-0288

discoverdurham.com

Known as “The Bull City,” Durham blends quintessential Southern charm with modern innovation. As an anchor for North Carolina’s famed Research Triangle Park, today’s Durham has transformed from a storied tobacco center into a global hub for state-of-the-art healthcare and medical research.

Exploring Durham’s allure is easy, thanks to its walkable downtown full of locally owned shops and award-winning restaurants and cocktail bars like Little Bull, Alley Twenty Six and The Bar Beej.

Year-round, groups can book reception space at the home of the city’s famed Minor League Baseball Team, the Durham Bulls — and, during the season, catching a game at the storied downtown ballpark is top on many visitors’ itineraries, thanks to “Bull Durham” movie fame.

“Durham is the perfect destination for meeting planners who are looking for a city with an authentic feel — with buildings that are historic and full of character — in an area with world-class amenities,” said Margaret Pentrack, executive vice president of strategic initiatives for Discover Durham.

Groups can opt to stay overnight in one of Durham’s more intimate downtown properties, including the Durham Hotel, the 21C Museum Hotel or the Unscripted Durham, or book rooms in one of the city’s larger hotels, like the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, a resort-style property on the campus of Duke University.

While in the area, visitors can enjoy touring Duke’s stunningly picturesque campus, including Duke Chapel, the Nasher Museum of Art and the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, a 55-acre botanical garden that recently unveiled a new visitor center and on-site cafe.

In Research Triangle Park, Boxyard RTP draws in crowds with dining, entertainment and shopping, all housed in a bold architectural concept formed from recycled shipping containers.

“For a long time, RTP was known as an innovative place to work, but the area has really become more of a destination now, too, with restaurants, shops, a brewery, a coffee shop, an escape room and more,” said Victoria Wresilo, public relations manager for Discover Durham.

Largest Convention Space

The Durham Convention Center includes 35,000 square feet of meeting space. It features a 15,500-square-foot grand ballroom, an 11,500-square-foot junior ballroom, and multiple smaller meeting rooms with customizable floor plans, along with on-site catering, event planning support and AV services. Meeting attendees can conveniently stay at the connecting Durham Marriott City Center, which includes 190 guest rooms and 550 square feet of additional meeting space.

The convention center serves as an anchor for the city’s Durham Convention & Arts Complex, known as DPlex, which also includes the 100-year-old Beaux Arts-style Carolina Theatre.

Off-Site Venues

The Durham Bulls Athletic Park in downtown includes dedicated meeting rooms, private suites and a party deck able to accommodate 120 guests, making it a popular option for groups year-round. Not far from downtown, Mystic Farm & Distillery, the area’s first post-Prohibition Era bourbon distillery, often hosts groups for tours and receptions on its picturesque 22-acre property.

In the city’s Northgate Park neighborhood, the Museum of Life and Science frequently hosts private meetings and events in its dedicated meeting rooms as well as in its exhibition spaces, including its popular butterfly house. Staff can also help plan fun team-building activities, including attendee scavenger hunts.

Meeting Hotels

The Sheraton Imperial Hotel Raleigh-Durham Airport at Research Triangle Park offers 31,500 square feet of meeting space, including 12 event rooms and 26 breakout rooms, just minutes from the airport. The Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club, a four-diamond, luxury-rated property situated on the Duke University campus, includes 24,300 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting areas and an Executive Conference Center able to accommodate up to 1,000 guests. Its sister property, the JB Duke Hotel, also on the Duke Campus, features a modern aesthetic with floor-to-ceiling windows plus a 5,450-square-foot ballroom that can be broken into five distinct, smaller meeting areas.

Activities

Between meetings, groups can catch a show at the Durham Performing Arts Center in downtown, enjoy dining and entertainment at American Tobacco Campus — a thriving downtown district of reenvisioned former tobacco warehouses — or head out for a night of team-building fun at Topgolf Durham or Andretti Indoor Karting & Games.