Seattle offers a distinctive and attractive combination of business opportunities, natural beauty, and modern infrastructure that makes it a successful location for trade shows, conventions, and exhibitions.
In particular, the recently remodeled and expanded Seattle Convention Center includes 988,422 square feet of total space with 485,150 sq. feet in the exhibit hall, 123,761 sq. feet for meeting rooms, and 102,628 for ballrooms!
Other Seattle Area Convention Centers Include:
- Tacoma Convention Center
- Everett Events Center
- Bellevue Conference Center
- Kirkland Performance Center
Overall, Seattle’s natural beauty, diverse businesses, vibrant cultural scene, modern infrastructure, and high quality of life make it an ideal location for technology, medical, environmental, and educational events.
Seattle Trade Shows: Why the Emerald City is the Ideal Location
Thriving Business Environment:
- Booming Tech Hub: Seattle is home to a vibrant tech community, including companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Boeing. This makes it an ideal location for trade shows related to technology, innovation, and digital solutions.
- Strong Investment Market: With a strong investment scene, Seattle attracts entrepreneurs and businesses from across the globe. This can benefit trade shows focused on attracting investors and showcasing cutting-edge products and services.
- Global Commercial Hub: Seattle is a major international port and gateway to Asia, offering access to a wide range of potential clients and partners. This makes it an ideal location for trade shows targeting international markets.
Attractive City and Location:
- Beautiful Scenery and Natural Surroundings: Seattle offers stunning views of the Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains, and Mount Rainier. This natural beauty can be a major draw for attendees and create a memorable experience.
- Vibrant Cultural Scene: Seattle boasts a diverse and dynamic cultural scene, with a variety of museums, art galleries, music venues, and restaurants. This can offer attendees plenty of entertainment options outside the trade show floor.
- Easy Accessibility: Seattle is a major transportation hub, with Seattle-Tacoma International Airport offering direct flights to destinations around the world. Additionally, the city has a well-developed public transportation system, making it easy for attendees to get around.
Modern Infrastructure and Facilities:
- State-of-the-art Convention Center: Seattle Convention Center is a modern facility with over 2 million square feet of exhibit space, making it capable of hosting large-scale trade shows.
- Wide Range of Meeting and Event Spaces: Seattle offers a variety of hotels, conference centers, and other venues suitable for hosting different sizes and types of events.
- Experience in Hosting Trade Shows: Seattle has a long history of hosting successful trade shows and conventions, making it a familiar and comfortable environment for organizers and attendees.
Other Factors:
- High Quality of Life: Seattle is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live in the United States, with factors such as high job growth, excellent schools, and a strong sense of community. This can be advantageous for attracting and retaining talent involved in planning and executing the trade show.
- Sustainable City Initiatives: Seattle is a leader in sustainability and green initiatives. This can be appealing to organizations that are focused on environmental responsibility and green marketing.
Popular Seattle Convention Center Trade Shows by Month
Seattle Wedding Show 2024 (January)
For over 30 years, the Seattle Wedding Show has been helping couples plan their dream wedding. With its extensive experience in the wedding industry, the SWS has helped countless couples plan the perfect wedding, making sure that every detail is taken care of, from the venue and music to the flowers and cake.
NCTM 2024 Regional Conference & Exposition (February)
The NCTM 2024 Regional Conference & Exposition theme, Everyone Belongs Here, aims to celebrate and embrace the experiences and differences that make each child unique.
The conference will explore instructional practices that create safe learning spaces where students’ voices, thoughts, and ideas are heard; their math identities thrive; and they are secure in knowing they are valued, they matter, and they belong. Join us February 7–9 in Seattle for three days of learning, networking, and opportunities for growing professionally and personally.
2024 NASPA Annual Conference (March)
NASPA strives to serve the diverse needs of our entire community, from vice presidents of student affairs to undergraduate student leaders first considering a career in the field, we are invested in empowering our members to realize their full potential. NASPA is dedicated to cultivating student success in collaboration with the missions of our institutional members, a network of colleges and universities representing every sector of higher education.
ASPHO 2024 Annual Conference (April)
More than 1,200 pediatric hematology/oncology professionals from around the world attend the ASPHO Conference each year. The leading meeting for the field, the ASPHO Conference allows attendees to receive high-quality educational content, network with their colleagues, and discover innovative advancements in pediatric hematology/oncology.
ARVO 2024 Annual Meeting (May)
The ARVO Annual Meeting is the premier gathering for eye and vision scientists from across the globe, at all career stages, students, and those in affiliated fields to share the latest research findings and collaborate on innovative solutions.
FCCLA 2024 National Leadership Conference (NLC) (June)
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) is a national Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) for students in Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) education in public and private schools through grade 12.
Power & Energy Society General Meeting – IEEE 2024 (July)
The 2024 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting will be held on the 21st–25th of July 2024 in Seattle, Washington. This premier power engineering conference will bring together practicing power engineers and academics from all over the world. The aim of the conference is to provide an international forum for experts to promote, share, and discuss various issues and developments in the field of electrical power engineering.
bbcon 2024 (September)
Blackbaud is a cloud computing provider that serves the social good community—nonprofits, foundations, corporations, education institutions, healthcare organizations, religious organizations, and individual change agents. Its products focus on fundraising, website management, CRM, analytics, financial management, ticketing, and education administration.
2024 INFORMS Annual Meeting (October)
With the beautiful Seattle skyline in the backdrop, the 2024 INFORMS Annual Meeting is a unique opportunity to connect and network with more than 6,000 members of the INFORMS community. From students to prospective employers and employees to academic and industry experts, the 2024 meeting will provide countless opportunities to learn, network, and grow your career.
2024 PRIM&R Annual Conference (November)
PRIMR24 is designed to educate and connect all those involved in research and research oversight, and to support the field in thinking holistically about the research enterprise and achieving our shared goal of advancing ethical, responsible, and high-quality research. As research evolves and modernizes, we aim to do the same.
2024 ASHA Convention (December)
The ASHA Convention is the premier annual professional development and networking event for speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists.
Other Notable Trade Shows and Conventions in Seattle
Other major conventions scheduled in Seattle in 2024:
- Northwest Remodeling Expo (4000 attendees)
- Northwest Garden and Flower Festival (60,000 attendees)
- Sneaker Con Seattle (12,000 attendees)
- Emerald City ComicC (25,000 attendees)
- Sakura-Con (30,000 attendees)
- Planted Expo (8000 attendees)
Conventions offer businesses the opportunity to connect with potential customers, build brand awareness, and stay ahead of the competition. While they require investment and planning, the potential benefits can significantly contribute to any business’s success.
In addition, trade shows are ideal for launching new products, learning about industry trends, gathering market research, generating media coverage, and boosting employee engagement.
Expanding Your Reach: Trade Shows in Washington State
Other significant trade show locations in Washington State:
Spokane Convention Center (Spokane): Located in Eastern Washington, the SCC boasts 300,000 sq. ft of space including a 120,000 sq. ft. exhibit hall. Located in DT Spokane, it is attached to two major hotels with close access to numerous restaurants and shopping opportunities.
Three Rivers Convention Center (Kennewick): Located in the Tri-Cities area, the TRCC has 75,000 sq. ft of conference space that can accommodate expos, conventions, board meetings, holiday parties, retirement celebrations, and weddings. It’s located near the Toyota Center and the Columbia Center Mall and within easy driving distance of over 200 wineries.
Yakima Valley SunDome (Yakima): The Yakima Valley SunDome is a 6,195-seat multi-purpose arena in Washington’s Inland Empire. Located on the Central Washington State Fairgrounds, it hosts sporting events, ice shows, horse shows, circuses, boxing, and concerts, as well as trade shows and conventions.
ShowPlex at the Washington State Fair Events Center (Puyallup): This state-of-the-art facility offers space for more than 400 booth spaces and seating for up to 3,400. Puyallup is located between Seattle and Tacoma.
Why Choose Exhibits NW as Your Seattle Trade Show Partner
For almost 30 years, Exhibits Northwest, your trusted Seattle trade show partner, has focused exclusively on businesses in the Pacific Northwest. At Exhibits Northwest, we specialize in crafting tailor-made, branded trade show exhibits that perfectly represent your brand and identity.
With over three decades of experience and a track record of thousands of successful custom projects, we know just how to make your custom trade show booth stand out from the crowd and attract attention. Our team of expert designers and fabricators will leverage the latest technology and materials to ensure every detail of your trade show display is on-brand, from the layout and foundation to the graphics and finishing touches.
Experience the Exhibits Northwest difference today!