Top Convention Centers in Southern California

photo by wired.com

When we think of Southern California one of the first things that pops into our minds is the beautiful climate. It is naturally air-conditioned by the subtle cool breezes that come in off the Pacific Ocean. Just an overall ideal climate. And because of Southern California’s reputation as a destination place, the area is fortunate to have some of the best convention centers around.

The nice thing about Southern California’s weather is that it’s not unbearably hot in the summer months. Usually in the warmer months many conferences think of the northern states as places to host their meetings. That’s not necessarily the case in Southern California. The large convention centers there enjoy year round conference opportunities.

Some of the biggest convention centers in Southern California include; the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Anaheim Convention Center and the San Diego Convention Center. These three convention centers are literally within a two hours drive of each other. Normally within this distance you would not find this many large convention centers. But because of the tourism draw to this part of the state, and the large population in Southern California, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of down time for them.

The Los Angeles Convention Center

photo by en.wikipedia.org

The center is a 720,000 ft.² facility. The Los Angeles Convention Center boast that it can hold 22,870 people for theater style or 12,800 people for a banquet. It is one of the most efficiently designed and technologically advanced convention centers in the world. Conveniently located in downtown Los Angeles, the convention center is close to many of LA’s world renowned attractions, hotels and airports. More than 2.5 million trade and public show visitors pass through the center each year.

Some recent conferences held at the Los Angeles Convention Center include; the LA auto show, the Comikaze Expo, and the pre-telecast of the annual Grammy awards.

The Anaheim Convention Center

photo by anaheimhotels.com

Not too far south of Los Angeles County is the famed Orange County, which includes the city of Anaheim. As most of us know, Anaheim California is home to a very famous mouse at Disneyland. Located beside Disneyland is the 1.6 million ft.² Anaheim Convention Center. The Anaheim Convention Center’s numbers include theater style for 15,000 and banquets for 13,800. The center completed a major expansion in 2000. Currently completion of the Grand Plaza is underway. This new space will be ideal for large outdoor events such as concerts, receptions and meal functions.

Some major conferences that utilize the Anaheim Convention Center are; NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants), Medical Design and Manufacturing Show, VidCon (the largest conference for online video).

The San Diego Convention Center

photo by transtechsystems.net

Located in the heart of beautiful San Diego, this convention center is recognized for its sustainability. It consist of 615,701 ft.² of total exhibit space and 204,114 ft.² of overall meeting space. This convention centers layout can accommodate setups for 48,910 theater style and 32,000 banquet style.

The San Diego Convention Center has won recent awards which include; Recycler of the Year Award (issued by the City of San Diego), Environmental Leadership Award (awarded by PCMA), and it was LEED Silver certified in 2011.

Major events at the San Diego Convention Center have included; the Society for Neuroscience, Comic Con (now on its 43rd annual convention which draws 126,000 people), and has hosted the Republican National Convention in 1996 and the 2007 California Democratic Party Convention. Famous guest speakers at the convention center have included Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Selena, Haley Barry and Hugh Jackman.