Convention centers are natural choices for meeting planners looking to bring bright minds together for a shared cause. They not only offer expansive purpose-built space and baked-in audiovisual, catering, and planning services under one roof, but there are hundreds scattered across the U.S., providing options in just about every major city. In the Southeast, you can explore centers like the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC)—with one of the largest contiguous-space exhibit halls in the country—or the transformed Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto, Florida, reopened with a fresh grand ballroom and set next door to the Palmetto Marriott Resort & Spa headquarters hotel that debuted in 2024.
Containing 140 distinct event spaces, the NOENMCC sets its focus on hospitality, sustainability, and infusing events with the vibrancy of The Big Easy. “What truly sets us apart from convention centers in other states is the culture of New Orleans,” says Jim Cook, president and CEO of the center. “Our guest services team greets each person with a friendly ‘bienvenue,’ a warm [French] New Orleans welcome, reflecting the Southern hospitality the city is known for.”
This year, the NOENMCC hosted the 100th VenueConnect Annual Conference and Trade Show, a gathering of thousands of venue professionals from across the country. “With the help of our partners at Sodexo Live, the team curated a multiday showcase of live local music, signature cuisine, and warm hospitality,” Cook says. Sustainability is a priority at the center, which achieved LEED Gold certification for the second time in 2025 and added an energy-efficient roof the previous year. Expected to be completed by 2029, the Omni Hotel New Orleans headquarters hotel will mark the first convention hotel constructed in New Orleans in more than four decades, enhancing the center’s ability to host large-scale events.
Another new Omni Hotels & Resorts property, the Omni Raleigh Hotel, also is coming soon (expected in 2028) near the Raleigh Convention Center in North Carolina, which is in the early stages of an expansion project that will add 300,000 square feet to the existing facility. “Our venue hosts a wide array of events, demonstrating flexibility, capability, and excellent customer service,” says Raleigh Convention Center Executive Director Kerry Painter. “This includes everything from ESL One, an international esports competition hosting its first event in the U.S. in a decade, and TMCSuperTech, an event where semitruck technicians demonstrate their skills in a series of competitions, to hosting events for major tech firms like [Raleigh-based] Pendo.” Farther south, along the picturesque Savannah River in Georgia, the Savannah Convention Center on Hutchinson Island soon will welcome the 444-room Signia by Hilton Savannah as its neighbor. The hotel is owned and operated by the convention center and slated for completion in spring 2028.
Convenience and accessibility are exemplary at the 700,000-square-foot Greater Richmond Convention Center in Virginia, the largest exhibition and meeting facility in the Old Dominion. It provides a 411-space parking deck attached to the facility, with 10,039 more parking spots available within a six-block radius. Accessibility amenities include the VCU Health Lactation Lounge, the only permanent convention center lactation space in the commonwealth of Virginia, as well as eight wheelchair-accessible entrances.
In Florida, the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center celebrated the opening of its East Expansion and new Convention Center Connector in October, part of a $1 billion project that began in 2019. The expansion added more than 1.2 million square feet to the existing facility, including a 65,000-square-foot waterfront ballroom overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway. An elevated bypass road that crosses Port Everglades, the Convention Center Connector now provides attendees with direct access to the center from U.S. Route 1, state Route 84, and Southeast 17th Street.
The Bradenton Area Convention Center, also in Florida, is riding a similar high after its recent revamp. The largest convention center between Naples and St. Petersburg, the Bradenton Area Convention Center now includes venues such as the 32,400-square-foot Gulf Islands Exhibit Hall, four customizable breakout rooms, two outdoor plazas, and a new grand ballroom for up to 800 attendees.
“The Bradenton area has deep roots in hospitality, and groups can enjoy quaint seaside towns, a rich arts and cultural scene, and rooftop dining within minutes of the convention center,” says Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Whether it’s at a luxurious beach setup (complete with hand-delivered coconuts), a locally owned restaurant specializing in toes-in-the-sand dining, or taking a group art class at a nearby art center, the Bradenton area’s strength is providing a sense of place for off-sites and group bleisure activities.” Groups meeting at the center can get a taste of regional flavors on-site, too, via its in-house catering team, Gulf Islands Hospitality, which showcases the area’s Caribbean-influenced cuisine.
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