Convention Centers in California With Plans

California gives organizers a long list of convention centers: large exhibit halls in Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Diego, city convention centers in Long Beach and Pasadena, Moscone Center and Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, the San Jose and Santa Clara convention centers in Silicon Valley, convention center listings in Sacramento, and smaller halls in Palm Springs, Monterey and Visalia. Below are California convention centers and event venues for trade shows that already have ready-made floor plans in Map D's Venue Library, grouped by region and linked to their venue pages so you can open a plan and start your booth layout. After the list you will find how to choose a hall, what to ask before you sign, and how to turn a venue plan into a show floor you can sell.

Dimensions in this article come from the plans drawn in Map D's Venue Library, not from official venue specifications, so confirm every measurement, column, door and utility location with the venue before you sell a single booth.

How to Use This List of California Convention Centers

This is not a ranking and not a complete directory of every venue in California. It is a working list of convention centers and hotel exhibit halls with plans drawn in Map D's library, so you can see the approximate shape of a hall and test a booth layout before your first site visit. Fairgrounds buildings have their own article, fairgrounds in California, so they are left out here. Some buildings have more than one listing in the library, and those are listed together under the venue.

Each venue page in the Map D venue directory shows the drawn floor plans for that building with their dimensions in feet and a preview of each plan. Choose a hall, select Use This Floor Plan Free, create a free account, and the plan opens in the editor as your starting canvas, ready for booths, aisles, labels and sponsor areas. Treat every plan as a starting point: halls get renovated, airwalls move and service corridors change, so check the drawing against the venue's current plan.

Los Angeles and Orange County Convention Centers

Southern California has several city convention centers within driving distance of each other. Plans in the library cover part of each campus, so ask the venue which hall or level your show would actually be assigned.

• [Los Angeles Convention Center](/venues/los-angeles-convention-center-los-angeles/), Los Angeles: the drawn plan measures about 978 x 600 feet.
• [Anaheim Convention Center](/venues/anaheim-convention-center-anaheim/), Anaheim: the drawn plan measures about 378 x 557 feet. Nearby, the library also has the Disneyland Hotel and Convention Center (about 378 x 234 feet) and the Anaheim Hilton (about 254 x 200 feet), which can suit a smaller show or a hotel-based expo.
• [Long Beach Convention Center](/venues/long-beach-convention-center-long-beach/), Long Beach: the drawn plan measures about 402 x 417 feet.
• [Pasadena Convention Center](/venues/pasadena-convention-center-pasadena/), Pasadena: the drawn plan measures about 294 x 304 feet.

San Diego Convention Centers and Hotel Exhibit Halls

San Diego has a convention center plus several hotels with their own exhibit halls and ballrooms in the library. Downtown venues bring their own load-in questions, so ask early how freight reaches the hall and where trucks wait.

• [San Diego Convention Center](/venues/san-diego-convention-center-san-diego/), San Diego: the drawn plan measures about 565 x 340 feet.
• [Manchester Grand Hyatt, Grand Hall](/venues/manchester-grand-hyatt-grand-hall-san-diego/), San Diego: the drawn plan measures about 259 x 169 feet. A second Manchester Grand Hyatt listing has a plan of about 270 x 161 feet.
• Other San Diego hotel plans in the library include the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina (a Ballroom 7-13 plan of about 149 x 152 feet) and the Sapphire ballroom at the Hilton Bayfront, sizes closer to a ballroom expo.

San Francisco and Silicon Valley Convention Centers

The Bay Area is a common pick for technology, life sciences and business shows. San Francisco venues suit shows that want a downtown destination, while San Jose and Santa Clara put the show floor in Silicon Valley.

• [Moscone Center](/venues/moscone-center-san-francisco/), San Francisco: the drawn plan measures about 536 x 656 feet.
• [Fort Mason Center](/venues/fort-mason-center-san-francisco/), San Francisco: the drawn plan measures about 591 x 182 feet, a long, narrow shape that works best with a clear main aisle running the length of the hall.
• [San Jose Convention Center](/venues/san-jose-convention-center-san-jose/), San Jose: the drawn plan measures about 696 x 383 feet. A second listing has a plan titled "Exhibit Hall B & C" of about 326 x 291 feet, useful if your show only needs part of the floor.
• [Santa Clara Convention Center](/venues/santa-clara-convention-center-santa-clara/), Santa Clara: the drawn plan measures about 494 x 407 feet.

Sacramento and Northern California

Sacramento is a natural fit for statewide associations, public-sector suppliers and shows that want to draw from Northern California and the Central Valley.

• [SAFE Credit Union Convention Center](/venues/safe-credit-union-convention-center-sacramento/), Sacramento: the drawn plan measures about 234 x 285 feet. The library also has a Sacramento Convention Center listing with a plan of about 363 x 322 feet, so ask the venue which current hall each drawing matches before you build on it.
• [Monterey Conference Center](/venues/monterey-conference-center-monterey/), Monterey: the drawn plan measures about 184 x 231 feet. A separate Monterey Convention Center listing has a plan of about 172 x 247 feet.

Desert and Central Valley Convention Centers

• [Palm Springs Convention Center](/venues/palm-springs-convention-center-palm-springs/), Palm Springs: the drawn plan measures about 189 x 162 feet. The library has a second Palm Springs listing with a plan of about 249 x 192 feet. Desert dates bring heat questions, so confirm climate control for move-in and any outdoor areas.
• [Visalia Convention Center](/venues/visalia-convention-center-tulare-kings-counties/), Visalia: the drawn plan measures about 194 x 211 feet, a size that suits regional ag, home and business shows.

How to Choose a California Convention Center for a Trade Show

The right venue fits your booth count, your exhibitors' freight and your attendees' travel at a cost the show can carry. Work through these points before you shortlist, and use our step-by-step guide on how to plan a trade show for the full timeline.

1. Start From Your Booth Count and Booth Sizes

Estimate how many exhibitors you expect and which booth sizes they buy. A planning assumption many organizers use is that booths take a little under half of the gross hall area once aisles, entrances, registration, food and lounges are added, but your ratio depends on the layout and the fire marshal's rules. The exhibit hall size calculator turns a booth mix into the hall size you need, and the booth capacity calculator works the other way, from a hall to a booth count.

2. Convention Hall or Hotel Exhibit Hall

• Convention center exhibit hall: Concrete floors, high ceilings, dock access and floor ports or utility boxes. Best for large booths, heavy equipment, vehicles and shows where freight is handled by a contractor.
• Hotel exhibit hall or ballroom: Often carpeted, with lower ceilings and airwalls, usually with food and beverage minimums and a room block. Suits medical, tech and association shows with a conference attached. See how much it costs to rent a hotel ballroom for how those contracts are priced.

3. Labor Rules, Load-In and Freight

Large California venues often have detailed rules on who can unload, assemble booths and run electrical, and those rules shape exhibitor costs. Ask what exhibitors may do themselves, how many docks you get, whether there is an off-site trade show marshalling yard for trucks, and how long the move-in and move-out windows are. Build your exhibitor move-in schedule around those answers, and put the rules in the exhibitor manual.

4. Fire Code, Columns and Aisles

Columns, exits, fire hose cabinets and electrical access shape where booths can go. Mark them on the venue plan before you number booths, check your trade show aisle widths, and review the fire marshal floor plan requirements so you know what the local authority will expect on your submitted plan.

5. Costs, Exclusives and Hotels

Compare rent, catering minimums, exclusive services, security, cleaning and whether move-in days are charged. For shows with out-of-town exhibitors, ask whether the venue or nearby hotels require a hotel room block. Our breakdown of how much it costs to rent a convention center lists the line items to request in every quote.

Questions to Ask a California Venue Before You Sign

Use this short list on site visits, and see our full list of questions to ask an event venue for contracts and costs.

1. What are the exact usable dimensions of the space we would rent, and can you send a current CAD or PDF plan?
2. Where are the columns, exits, utility ports and fire equipment, and which areas must stay clear?
3. Which tasks can exhibitors do themselves, and which require venue or contractor labor?
4. How many docks are available to us during move-in and move-out, and where do trucks wait?
5. Which services are exclusive to the venue (electrical, internet, rigging, food, cleaning), and what do they cost?
6. Is there a food and beverage minimum or a hotel room block tied to the rental?
7. Are move-in and move-out days charged at the full rate?
8. What other events are in the building on our dates, and how will docks, parking and signage be shared?

From Venue Plan to Booth Layout

1. Open the venue in the Map D venue directory and choose the plan closest to the space you will actually rent.
2. Check the drawn plan against the venue's current plan and adjust walls, columns, doors and service areas.
3. Block out registration, food, lounges, stages, emergency exits and fire equipment clearances before adding booths.
4. Lay booths and aisles in standard sizes and number them in a logical order so exhibitors and staff can find them.
5. Price booths by size and location, mark sponsor and premium spots, and hold booths for returning exhibitors.
6. Send the layout to the venue and the fire marshal for review before you open booth sales.

When the layout is approved, event floor plan software lets you keep one version of the map that sales, operations and exhibitors all work from, and expo management software connects that map to booth sales, exhibitor tasks and invoices. Planning in another region? See the companion lists of convention centers in Texas and Las Vegas trade show venues.

Common Mistakes When Picking a California Venue

• Booking by headline size without subtracting columns, service areas and required clearances.
• Assuming the drawn plan matches the room today without asking the venue for a current plan.
• Leaving labor rules out of the exhibitor manual, so exhibitors are surprised by service costs on site.
• Leaving move-in and move-out days out of the budget and the schedule.
• Choosing a carpeted hotel ballroom for exhibitors who need forklift delivery or vehicles on the floor.
• Underestimating traffic and parking time for attendees driving across a large metro area.
• Selling booths before the fire marshal has reviewed the layout.

Where Map D Fits

Map D is floor plan and booth sales software for organizers. Starting from a venue plan saves the time of tracing a hall from a PDF: you open the plan, then add booths, aisles, sponsor areas and labels in the editor. When the layout is ready, paid plans let you publish an interactive map, share it with exhibitors and sell booths online. Map D does not book venues or replace the venue's official plan, so keep the venue and the fire marshal in the loop on every revision.