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EXHIBITOR Magazine Announces Special Award Winners in its 2025 Centers of Excellence Awards
11/14/2024
ROCHESTER MN. - Last month Exhibitor Group announced the 25 convention centers that qualified for its sixth annual Centers of Excellence Awards, and today we are excited to announce the winners of five special awards related to the competition.

"The world’s nearly 1,400 exhibition venues all have one thing in common: they strive to provide events and exhibitions with the best possible experience from set up to tear down, and from meeting rooms to mobile apps—and everything in-between," said Charles Pappas, senior writer for EXHIBITOR magazine. "That’s why six years ago EXHIBITOR launched its Centers of Excellence initiative to identify and especially to recognize the best convention centers for trade shows and events."

"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. "We are proud to honor this year's top category finishers."

The 2025 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)
  • Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Finalists also included Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and Los Angeles Convention Center.

Best Convention Center (100,000 - 500,000 sq. ft. of Exhibit Space)
  • Baird Center
Colorado Convention Center and Seattle Convention Center were also finalists.

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.

Centers of Excellence The Special Awards winners were announced yesterday during a special EXHIBITORInsight livestream which can be viewed on-demand here.

Exhibitor Group 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 2025 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 25 venues that qualified for EXHIBITOR Magazine's 2025 Centers of Excellence include:
  • Anaheim Convention Center
  • Atlanta Convention Center at AmericasMart
  • Baird Center
  • Baltimore Convention Center
  • Charlotte Convention Center
  • Colorado Convention Center
  • Edmonton EXPO Centre
  • Greater Columbus Convention Center
  • Greater Tacoma Convention Center
  • Hawaii Convention Center
  • Huntington Place
  • Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium
  • Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas
  • Kentucky Exposition Center
  • Kentucky International Convention Center
  • Los Angeles Convention Center
  • Miami Beach Convention Center
  • The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
  • Overland Park Convention Center
  • Owensboro Convention Center
  • Raleigh Convention Center
  • Renasant Convention Center
  • San Diego Convention Center
  • Seattle Convention Center
  • Walter E. Washington Convention Center

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.

For more information on all of the 2025 Centers of Excellence recipients, visit www.ExhibitorOnline.com/FindIt/CoE.asp.


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; EXHIBITOR Education Week, the Professional Learning Conference for Exhibit and Corporate Event Marketers; 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.

EXHIBITOR is a registered trademark, and EXHIBITORLIVE, EXHIBITOR Education Week, and EXHIBITOR eTrak, are trademarks of Exhibitor Media, LLC, in the USA and other countries. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated.


Contact:
questions@exhibitormagazine.com






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