Piedmont
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“Raleigh elevates conferences and events through a communal spirit, where inclusion, progress, discovery, and friendliness can truly flourish,” says Malinda Harrell, CMP Fellow, CASE, director of sales for Visit Raleigh.
The LEED Silver-certified Raleigh Convention Center boasts 500,000 square feet of flexible event space, including a 32,617-square-foot ballroom and 20 meeting rooms; with 150,000 square feet of contiguous space, it can accommodate 8,980 guests banquet style or 10,000 theater style. A LEED Gold-certified expansion, due for completion in 2029, will add 298,000 square feet, including 50,000 square feet of flex space and 13 meeting rooms. Construction has also begun on the adjacent 600-room Omni Raleigh Hotel, which is expected to open in late 2028 with 61,000 square feet of event space, a rooftop pool, and other amenities.
The Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, part of the convention center and performing arts complex, boasts 80,000 square feet of event space across four venues: the 2,534-seat Raleigh Memorial Auditorium; 1,587-person-capacity Meymandi Concert Hall; 600-person-capacity A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater; and the Lounge, an intimate venue for smaller groups. In the Raleigh West District, the 700,000-square-foot Lenovo Center seats 19,500 people for full arena events and features 17,000 square feet of floor space. For smaller events, a curtaining system creates a more intimate setting for gatherings of 4,000 to 10,000 people. Other components at the Lenovo Center include six meeting spaces, 59 suites, 13 lounge boxes, and a 9,100-square-foot club restaurant (currently closed for renovations). The facility is currently undergoing major upgrades and additions, including expanded main concourses, a new mixed-use development, and a 150-key hotel.
The North Carolina State Fairgrounds offers 400,000 square feet of meeting space with a capacity of 16,333 theater style and 2,550 banquet style. The McKimmon Conference & Training Center, located at NC State University, features 37,000 square feet of event space for up to 1,200 guests.
Raleigh’s robust hotel landscape includes the 333-room Hilton Raleigh North Hills, with 30,093 square feet of event space; 379-room Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley, with 22,181 square feet of event space; 273-room Embassy Suites by Hilton Raleigh Durham Research Triangle, with 20,066 square feet of meeting space; and Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, with 18,925 square feet of event space. The 150-room Umstead Hotel and Spa—North Carolina’s only hotel to achieve triple Forbes Five-Star status—has 10,200 square feet of luxury event space.
The new Hilton Dual Brand Tempo and Homewood Suites, which opened last year, offers a total of 261 guest rooms and 6,586 square feet of event space. The new 150-room Oberlin Hotel is scheduled to open in August in the Village District, while The Pagemore Hotel at Fenton, a 186-room Tribute Portfolio property featuring 6,000 square feet of event space, is scheduled to open later next year.
