Seattle Convention Center: Venue Review

The Seattle Convention Center, formerly called the Washington State Convention Center, has been home to some incredible events over the past 36 years.  But don’t let its age fool you – they just added on a brand new and, truly, breathtaking building called Summit that we can’t wait to tell you about.  As a Seattle DMC we spend a lot of time talking about our convention center and we’re so proud of the facilities that we get to share with you.

Seattle Convention Center Buildings and Capacities

There are three venues that make up the Seattle Convention Center:

• Arch at 705 Pike (Seattle Convention Center’s original building)

• Arch at 800 Pike (formerly called the Conference Center)

• Summit (opened January 2023)

Arch at 705 Pike

The Arch at 705 Pike is the convention center’s original building, and feels a lot like home to local Seattle event professionals like us.  We love the natural light and lots of greenery throughout the lobby atrium, and it’s especially charming on a sunny day.

There are 205,700 square feet of exhibit space, 45,000 square feet of ballroom space, and 70 meeting rooms making the Seattle Convention Center a great destination for large conventions and exhibits.  The team with Visit Seattle does an excellent job of welcoming groups to the Seattle area and connecting event planners with all of the best resources to fully enjoy the area.

Arch at 800 Pike

Arch at 800 Pike, built in 2010, and was formerly known as The Conference Center.  With 17 meeting spaces and over 35,000 square feet this venue offers space to expand beyond the Arch at 705 Pike, or to host your standalone event.  Arch at 800 Pike is LEED Silver certified.

The convention center is within walking distance to world-class restaurants, hotels, and attractions, making it so easy for you and your attendees to enjoy all that Seattle has to offer.

Summit

The Summit Building opened in January 2023, and there is so much to love.  Summit boasts 140,700 square feet of naturally lit lobby space and an acoustically treated Flex Hall (99,250 sq ft). The ballroom/flex hall brings the wow-factor with 3,900 suspended reclaimed wood planks.

The “Hillclimb” stairs have tall translucent numbers filled with items that represent aspects of Washington State’s history and culture. 

Another one of our favorite Seattle Convention Center spaces is the garden terrace. The 14,000 square foot outdoor space is an oasis within downtown, and gives attendees the  perfect Pacific Northwest fresh air experience.

With the LEED Platinum certification there are so many cool features in and on the building including solar panels, rainwater harvesting that can be used for irrigation and toilet flushing, and sustainably sourced building materials.

Transportation

There are several options to get to and from the Seattle Convention Center.  We recommend the Link Light Rail, biking, and ride sharing; but here is a complete list of transportation options to help you plan ahead.

The Seattle Convention Center is a Must-See

The Seattle Convention Center is one of the best convention facilities in the United States.  Of course, we may be a little biased, but we hope the information that we shared with you today helps to prove that.  We’d love to welcome you to our beautiful city and invite you to visit the convention center with us so you can see and experience it for yourself.  Please contact us if you’d like to come for a visit, or with any questions about meeting in Seattle.  We’d love to hear from you.

Thank you to the Seattle Convention Center for allowing us use of the photos by Cory Parris.

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