Raleigh Convention Center – Overview

Whether you’re hosting an event or attending one, the Raleigh Convention Center in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, is a great place to be. This state-of-the-art convention center opened in 2008 and has been the city’s premier event space ever since. It served as a replacement for the city’s previous convention center, which was torn down in 2006 due to a combination of factors that included its aging state and relatively small size.

Erected at the same time as the new Raleigh Convention Center was the adjacent Raleigh Marriott City Center hotel. Due to its convenient location, many eventgoers choose to stay at this four-star, 400-room hotel during their visit to the Raleigh Convention Center. In addition to providing attendees with a place to stay while they’re in Raleigh, the Marriott also offers an additional 15,000 square feet of meeting space as well as a sprawling, 1,000-space parking garage. Together, the Raleigh Convention Center and the Raleigh Marriott City Center have played a large part in the revitalization of Fayetteville Street and downtown Raleigh as a whole.

Overview

500,000 square feet of total space: The Raleigh Convention Center boasts 500,000 square feet of space among its three floors. It is located in the downtown area of Raleigh next to the Raleigh Marriott City Center hotel. There’s an exhibit hall on the bottom floor and a ballroom on the top floor. Meeting rooms are located throughout.
150,000-square-foot exhibit hall: The Raleigh Convention Center’s 150,000-square-foot exhibit hall provides an ample amount of flexible space. It can be divided up into a total of five smaller configurations ranging from 45,638 square feet to 101,205 square feet in size. As a whole, the Raleigh Convention Center’s exhibit hall can accommodate up to 790 booths. It can also seat up to 8,980 guests for banquets and over 15,000 when set up theater-style. Features include state-of-the-art adaptable lighting technologies, multiple points of ramp access, and direct drive-in access via 12 covered loading docks.
20 meeting rooms: With 20 exceptionally versatile meeting rooms, the Raleigh Convention Center offers a total of 32,600 square feet of space for breakout sessions and the like. Each of the facility’s meeting rooms is designed for flexibility and can double or triple in size in order to accommodate a variety of gatherings. Two of the Raleigh Convention Center’s meeting rooms are designated as executive suites. These rooms are a cut above the rest, outfitted with premium features such as vaulted ceilings and wood paneling to set the tone for board meetings and the like.
32,000-square-foot ballroom: The Raleigh Convention Center’s ballroom is located on the top floor of the facility. It has a total square footage of 32,617 and be easily divided into multiple different configurations. These configurations range from 10,072 to 22,545 square feet. Off of the ballroom is an 11,500-square-foot reception and registration area, which offers views of downtown Raleigh. An executive suite is also conveniently close by.
9,145-square-foot main lobby: Boasting floor-to-ceiling windows, the main lobby of the Raleigh Convention Center sure makes a great first impression. Other notable features include impressive granite architectural details, curated artwork, ample seating, and a 2,665-square-foot registration area.
11,200-square-foot mezzanine: Located on the street level of the Raleigh Convention Center is an 11,200-square-foot mezzanine. This area of the convention center overlooks the exhibit hall and provides easy access to other parts of the facility as well as the attached Marriott hotel. Like the main lobby, the mezzanine also features beautiful art and architecture, along with plenty of natural lighting.

Tips

Make an effort to explore the great outdoors while in Raleigh. With over 180 miles of trails, it’s no wonder how Raleigh became known as a “city in a park.” There’s certainly a lot to see in Raleigh, so try to visit some of the city’s greenspaces whenever you’ve got some downtime. The scenic Capital Area Greenway is a great place to get in touch with nature without having to venture far from the Raleigh Convention Center. An entrance to the greenway is located at 222 West Hargett Street, about a half-mile away from the facility.
If the weather’s bad, park your car at the Raleigh Marriott City Center hotel. The parking garage at the Marriott hotel provides underground access to the Raleigh Convention Center. Parking there means you’ll be able to stay dry even if it’s busy raining cats and dogs outside.
Know where you’ve got to go ahead of time before arriving at the Raleigh Convention Center. As some past attendees have noted, directional signage can be hard to come by inside the convention center. Not knowing where to go only makes the process of finding your way around even more frustrating and time-consuming. That’s why it’s in your best interest to try and get in touch with someone who can give you a rundown of where the day’s activities will be taking place in advance.
First-time visitors should grab a map of the Raleigh Convention Center upon entering. Like most convention centers, the layout of the Raleigh Convention Center can be confusing. That goes double for first-timers. Don’t try navigating it without any help, since you might end up getting lost and showing up late to your event. Instead, grab one of the handy maps made readily available to eventgoers. Once you have an overview of the facility in front of you, the layout will start to make a whole lot more sense.
Take advantage of the Raleigh Convention Center’s free Wi-Fi. Unlike most convention centers, the Wi-Fi service at the Raleigh Convention Center is totally free. That way you can catch up on emails, update your social media, and more without having to pay or worry about using too much of your cellular data.
Need a cab? Have them hail one for you at the Marriott next door. If cabs are few and far between, don’t waste time standing outside the convention center trying to hail one yourself. Instead, dip into the Marriott hotel next door. Their friendly staff will be more than happy to get you a cab so you can quickly get where you need to go.
Both a UPS Store and USPS Post Office are located within walking distance of the Raleigh Convention Center. The Raleigh Convention Center doesn’t feature its own on-site store where attendees can fulfill their printing, packing, and shipping needs. That’s okay though, because there’s already two stores nearby that do. A UPS Store is a six-minute walk away, located at 324 South Wilmington Street. A USPS Post Office can be found only five minutes away at 300 Fayetteville Street. You can stop by either one and be back at the convention Center in next to no time at all.

Trivia

The Raleigh Convention Center is more than double the size of its predecessor. Before there was the Raleigh Convention Center, there was, well… the Raleigh Convention Center. Names aside, the previous incarnation of the Raleigh Convention Center was a far different facility. For starters, it was less than half the size of its current counterpart. That was one of the main reasons the facility was demolished in 2006. Another reason why was its age. The old Raleigh Convention Center was built back in 1977, meaning that it had been standing for almost 30 years by the time it was replaced in favor of building a more modern facility.
The western side of the Raleigh Convention Center features a stunning public art piece known as the Cree Shimmer Wall. This giant, 9,284-square-foot depiction of an oak tree, a reference to Raleigh’s nickname, the “City of Oaks,” is the convention center’s most unique feature, architectural or otherwise. It was designed by artist Thomas Sayre and funded by Cree, Inc., a North Carolina-based LED manufacturer. The Shimmer Wall gets its name from the 79,464 light and dark aluminum square pixels that flap freely in the wind. At night, the Shimmer Wall is lit up by LED fixtures provided by Cree. These state-of-the-art fixtures can be programmed to flash and display more than a million different colors, from red, white, silver, and black for the Carolina Hurricanes to different shades of green for Saint Patrick’s Day.
The roof of the Raleigh Convention Center is equipped with 2,000 solar panels, making it the second-largest convention center solar array in the U.S. That’s right; the Raleigh Convention Center boasts one of the biggest arrays of solar panels, beating out hundreds of other convention centers nationwide. The facility’s impressive solar array is just one of the many sustainability initiatives that helped it earn LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Other sustainability-focused features of the Raleigh Convention Center include low-flow toilets and urinals, energy-efficient LED bulbs, and a rainwater harvesting system. Talk about going green!