The Phoenix Convention Center

One of the main goals of a CVB is to sell their city as an ideal location to hold conference, exhibition, event, etc. A major deciding factor for a meeting planner in the choice of a destination for their conference is the venues that are available. Phoenix has a wide variety of unique venues to choose from, such as sporting arenas, theaters, hotels/resorts, and cowboy cookouts. However, the main star among the venues in Phoenix is the Phoenix Convention Center. The Housing Department at the GPCVB primarily deals with all the conferences that will be held at this venue. Meaning, I make reservations for attendees and such who will be going to the convention center for their conference. I have occasionally been asked questions about the venue, such as, "Where is the West Building?" and "Does the Convention Center have food available for purchase?".

Two years ago, the $600 million expansion of the Phoenix Convention Center was completed. The venue contains over 900,000 square feet of meeting and event space, and covers a total of more than two million square feet. It is located in the center of Downtown Phoenix. One of the breathtaking things about the convention center is the way in which it is intertwined with thousands of Arizona's Sonoran Desert, culture, and history inspired images, from the architecture, to the colors, to the textures, to the art pieces and pictures. These aspects, along with its cutting edge AZ, telecommunications, and information technology services, and a variety of other helpful services, make it one of the top 20 convention venues in the United States.


The convention center is made up of three main buildings. The North Building occupies an entire city block of 635,000 square feet of meeting and event space with four levels. It contains 11 exhibit halls, 56 meeting rooms, and 20 loading docks. Also, the North Building is home to the food court that has five main restaurants as well as outdoor meeting and event space. Another great piece of this building is that it is linked to the West Building across the street by a glass encased sky bridge.

The West Building occupies 157,000 square feet of meeting and event space and includes a lecture hall and a grand ballroom. Additionally, the lobby of the West Building is encased by a 90-foot tall glass atrium and the large glass door can be raised to let in the fresh desert air. The lobby of this building conveniently adjoins to the grand entrance of the Symphony Hall.


The South Building occupies over 33,000 square feet of meeting and event space, with 23 meeting rooms, 28,000 square fee of ballroom space, and a chunk of the exhibition space. This building alone was the original Phoenix Convention Center and recently underwent an $18.5 million makeover.

The website for the Phoenix Convention Center is just as wonderful as the venue itself. It is loaded with helpful information and even breaks it down for planners, exhibitors, and attendees so that it is easier to navigate through the site.

**This information was collected from the GPCVB website and the Phoenix Convention Center website.**