Last month Exhibitor Group announced the 25 convention centers that qualified for its fifth annual Centers of Excellence Awards, and today we are excited to announce the winners of five special awards related to the competition. The 2024 Centers of Excellence Special Awards winners are:
Best Convention Center (Over 1 Million sq. ft. of Exhibit Space)
Anaheim Convention Center
Kentucky Exposition Center was also a finalist in this category.
Best Convention Center (500,000 – 1 Million sq. ft. of Exhibit Space)
Enercare Centre
Finalists also included Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Los Angeles Convention Center, and Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
Best Convention Center (100,000 – 500,000 sq. ft. of Exhibit Space)
Vancouver Convention Centre
The Colorado Springs Convention Center at The Broadmoor was also a finalist.
Best Convention Center (Less Than 100,000 sq. ft. of Exhibit space)
Greater Tacoma Convention Center
Overland Park Convention Center and Owensboro Convention Center were also finalists.
Best Customer Service & On-Site Support
Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Los Angeles Convention Center and Huntington Place were also finalists in this category.
The Special Awards winners were announced today during a special EXHIBITORInsight session which can be viewed on-demand here.
Exhibitor Group, which produces both EXHIBITOR magazine and Find It on EXHIBITORXchange, the buyer’s guide to trade show products and services, launched the Centers of Excellence initiative in 2019 to identify and recognize North America’s best convention centers for trade shows and events.
The highest-scoring venues named among EXHIBITOR Magazine’s 2024 Centers of Excellence are featured in a special supplement in the October/November issue of EXHIBITOR, as well as via an online portal where readers can learn more about each of the facilities that qualified for this honor.
The venues that qualified for EXHIBITOR Magazine’s 2024 Centers of Excellence include:
Anaheim Convention Center
Baltimore Convention Center
Colorado Convention Center
Duke Energy Convention Center
Edmonton EXPO Centre
Enercare Centre
Greater Columbus Convention Center
Greater Tacoma Convention Center
Hawaii Convention Center
Huntington Place
Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas
Kentucky Exposition Center
Kentucky International Convention Center
Los Angeles Convention Center
Miami Beach Convention Center
Overland Park Convention Center
Owensboro Convention Center
Raleigh Convention Center
Renasant Convention Center
San Diego Convention Center
Seattle Convention Center
Tampa Convention Center
The Convention Center at The Broadmoor
Vancouver Convention Centre
Walter E. Washington Convention Center
“The facilities on this list have proven their ability to host trade shows and events of all sizes while providing world-class service and state-of-the-art accommodations,” said Emily Olson, editor of EXHIBITOR magazine.
Small, medium, and large convention centers located anywhere in North America are invited to apply annually, with entrants evaluated using an objective algorithm weighted to reflect how EXHIBITOR magazine readers value a variety of variables. The evaluation process also includes a survey of event planners, show organizers, and exhibit managers who have recently hosted (or exhibited at) events within each facility, as well as a review of entrants’ event spaces, selling points, and innovations, conducted by a panel of corporate exhibit managers.
For more information on the Centers of Excellence competition, visit www.ExhibitorOnline.com/Awards/CoE.
About Exhibitor Group
The leader in trade show and corporate event marketing education, Exhibitor Group publishes EXHIBITOR magazine, an award-winning publication featuring best practices in trade show marketing. EXHIBITOR's learning events include: EXHIBITORLIVE, The Conference and Exhibition for Trade Show and Corporate Event Marketing; EXHIBITORFastTrak accelerated learning conferences; and EXHIBITOR eTrak, professional online learning. Exhibitor Group is also the founder of CTSM (Certified Trade Show Marketer), the industry's only university-affiliated professional certification program, and the EXHIBITORNOW podcast, your source for the latest news and interviews with thought leaders in trade shows and events. Learn more at www.ExhibitorOnline.com.
