Convention Centers in Colorado With Plans

Colorado gives trade show and expo organizers three kinds of space: the large convention halls in Denver, event centers and fairgrounds along the Front Range, and hotel or resort ballrooms from Denver to the mountains. Below are Colorado convention centers, expo centers and event venues that already have ready-made floor plans in Map D's Venue Library, grouped by area and linked to their venue pages so you can open a plan and start your booth layout. First, here is how to choose the right one for a trade show, expo, festival or market.

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 Choose a Colorado Venue for a Trade Show or Expo

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 keep notes per venue so you compare the same things.

1. Size the Show Before You Tour

Count the booths you expect to sell by size, then add aisles, registration, food, a stage or demo area, lounges and storage. A planning assumption many organizers use is that booths take a little under half of the gross hall area once those are added, but your ratio depends on the layout and the fire marshal's rules. As a rough example, a plan of about 270 x 329 feet is close to 89,000 square feet gross, so at that assumption it leaves roughly 40,000 square feet for booths before you subtract columns. Run your own numbers with the exhibit hall size calculator, which turns a booth mix into the space you need.

2. Convention Hall, Event Center or Ballroom

• Convention center hall: Concrete floors, high ceilings, docks and utility access. Best for large booths, heavy equipment, vehicles and shows where a contractor handles freight.
• Event center or fairground building: Often a large open floor with drive-in doors, which suits consumer expos, home and garden shows, gun and hobby shows, craft markets and equipment displays. Ask about heating, since Colorado winters are cold.
• Hotel or resort ballroom: Carpeted, with airwalls, lower ceilings, a food and beverage minimum and often a room block. Suits association meetings and conferences with a tabletop or sponsor expo attached.

3. Load-In, Freight and Altitude

Ask how freight reaches the hall, whether docks or drive-in doors serve your space, how long the move-in window is and where exhibitor trucks and trailers wait. For mountain venues, plan for longer drives, steep grades and the chance of a closed pass, and give exhibitors a move-in window with slack in it. Exhibitors and staff coming from sea level may also tire faster at altitude, so build in water stations and seating.

4. Power, Internet and Utilities

Find out where floor ports, utility boxes or power drops sit, which services are exclusive to the venue and how exhibitors order power and internet. Mark the power locations on your plan before you number booths, because exhibitors who need power will ask for booths near it, and the venue will charge for long runs.

5. Aisle Widths, Columns and Fire Code

Columns, exits, airwall tracks and fire equipment decide where booths can go. Mark them on the plan first, check your trade show aisle widths, and review the fire marshal floor plan requirements before you submit the layout. If the hall has a column grid, our guide on how to plan booths around columns shows ways to turn them into usable booth corners.

6. Season and Weather

Snow, ice and early dark in winter can slow load-in, outdoor registration lines and attendee travel. Summer suits outdoor festivals and markets but brings afternoon storms in many parts of the state, so plan shelter and a lightning procedure for any outdoor area. Ask each venue how it handles snow removal, parking lot ice and weather delays to freight.

Questions to Ask a Colorado Venue Before You Sign

Use this short list on site visits, and see our full list of questions to ask an event venue for contract terms 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, airwalls, utility ports and fire equipment, and which areas must stay clear?
3. How does freight reach the room, and how long are the move-in and move-out windows?
4. Which services are exclusive to the venue (electrical, internet, food, cleaning, security), and what do they cost?
5. Is the space heated and cooled on our dates, including move-in days?
6. How do you handle snow, ice and weather delays, and who decides if the event is postponed?
7. Are move-in and move-out days charged, and is there a food and beverage minimum or room block?
8. What other groups are in the building on our dates, and how will docks, parking and signage be shared?

Denver Convention Venues

Denver is the usual starting point for statewide and national shows in Colorado. The library has plans for the downtown convention center, a large resort convention center and an event complex.

• [Colorado Convention Center](/venues/colorado-convention-center-denver/), Denver: the drawn plan titled "Level 2" spans about 1,465 x 1,000 feet, which covers a whole level rather than one hall. Ask which hall your show is assigned and trim the canvas to it.
• [Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center](/venues/gaylord-rockies-resort-and-convention-center-denver/), Denver: the drawn plan spans about 376 x 297 feet. A second listing, Gaylord Of The Rockies, has a plan of about 190 x 317 feet, so check which space your contract names.
• [National Western Complex](/venues/national-western-complex-denver/), Denver: the drawn plan spans about 332 x 590 feet, a long open shape that suits rows of consumer expo booths or vendor tables.
• [Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center](/venues/hyatt-regency-denver-at-colorado-convention-center-denver/), Denver: the drawn plan spans about 134 x 129 feet, a size that fits a tabletop expo next to conference sessions.
• [Sheraton Denver, Grand Ballroom](/venues/sheraton-denver-grand-ballroom-denver/), Denver: the drawn plan spans about 138 x 176 feet.
• The library also has the Marriott Denver Tech Center (about 111 x 72 feet), a size for a sponsor showcase or small tabletop expo.

Front Range Event Centers and Fairgrounds

Outside downtown Denver, event centers and fairgrounds host consumer shows, hobby and gun shows, vendor markets and regional expos that need drive-in access and simpler rules than a convention hall.

• [Douglas County Events Center](/venues/douglas-county-events-center-castle-rock/), Castle Rock: the drawn plan spans about 270 x 329 feet.
• [Arapahoe County Fairgrounds](/venues/arapahoe-county-fairgrounds-aurora/), Aurora: the drawn plan spans about 93 x 226 feet, a narrow building that works for two or three long rows of vendor spaces.
• [Norris Penrose Event Center](/venues/norris-penrose-event-center-colorado-springs/), Colorado Springs: the drawn plan spans about 439 x 171 feet. A long building needs a clear traffic loop so the far end does not go quiet.
• [Embassy Suites, Front Range Ballroom](/venues/embassy-suites-front-range-ballroom-loveland/), Loveland: the drawn plan spans about 435 x 268 feet, which serves Northern Colorado shows.
• Other Front Range plans include The Westin Westminster (about 183 x 135 feet) and the Doubletree by Hilton in Colorado Springs (about 258 x 167 feet).

Mountain Conference Venues

• [Keystone Conference Center](/venues/keystone-conference-center-keystone/), Keystone: the drawn plan spans about 193 x 127 feet. It suits a conference expo or sponsor hall, and mountain dates need a winter freight plan.

How to Start a Layout From a Venue Library Plan

Starting from a drawn plan saves the hours it takes to trace a hall from a PDF. Each venue page in the Map D venue directory shows the plans drawn for that building, their dimensions in feet and a preview.

1. Open the venue in the directory and choose the plan closest to the space you will actually rent.
2. Select Use This Floor Plan Free and create a free account; the plan opens in the editor as your canvas.
3. Check the drawing against the venue's current plan and fix walls, columns, doors and service areas.
4. Block out registration, food, lounges, stages, exits and fire equipment clearances before adding booths.
5. Lay booths and aisles in standard sizes and number them in a logical order.
6. Price booths by size and location, mark sponsor and premium spots and hold booths for returning exhibitors.
7. Send the layout to the venue and the fire marshal for review before you open booth sales.

Once the layout is approved, event floor plan software keeps one version of the map that exhibitors, staff and attendees all work from. For costs, see how much it costs to rent a convention center. Planning elsewhere in the West? See the companion lists of convention centers in Arizona and convention centers in California.

Common Mistakes When Picking a Colorado Venue

• Using the headline size of a building instead of the hall you will actually rent.
• Assuming the drawn plan matches the room today without asking the venue for a current plan.
• Booking winter dates without a snow plan for freight, parking and attendee travel.
• Comparing ballroom rental to convention center rent without adding food and beverage minimums and service charges.
• Placing power-hungry exhibitors far from utility access.
• 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. You open a venue plan, then add booths, aisles, sponsor areas and labels in the editor. When the layout is ready, a paid plan lets you publish an interactive map, share it with exhibitors and sell booths online. Map D does not book venues, quote rates or replace the venue's official plan, so keep the venue and the fire marshal in the loop on every revision.