Convention Centers in Minnesota With Plans

Minnesota gives trade show and expo organizers three kinds of space: the large convention halls in Minneapolis and St. Paul, regional convention centers in Duluth, Rochester and St. Cloud, and event centers and hotel spaces across the Twin Cities. Below are Minnesota convention 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 Minnesota 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 296 x 276 feet is close to 82,000 square feet gross, so at that assumption it leaves roughly 37,000 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 Hotel Space

• Convention center hall: Concrete floors, high ceilings, docks and utility access. Best for large booths, heavy equipment, boats, vehicles and shows where a contractor handles freight.
• Event center or racetrack building: Often an open floor with drive-in access and parking nearby, which suits consumer expos, home shows, hobby shows, craft markets and equipment displays. Ask whether the building is heated on move-in days.
• Hotel or historic event space: Carpeted or finished floors, 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 Winter Weather

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. In winter, ask whether loading areas are enclosed or heated, who clears snow from docks and lots, and how the venue handles a storm on move-in day. Large halls usually work with a general service contractor for freight, carpet and furnishings; our list of questions to ask a general service contractor helps you compare bids.

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

Minnesota winters bring snow, ice, cold and early dark, which can slow load-in, outdoor registration lines and attendee travel, especially for shows that draw from rural parts of the state. Plan a coat check and a warm entry for attendees, and keep exhibitor move-in windows generous. Summer suits outdoor festivals and markets but brings thunderstorms, 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 Minnesota 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, are loading areas enclosed, 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 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?

Minneapolis Convention Venues

Minneapolis is the usual starting point for statewide and national shows in Minnesota. The library has plans for the downtown convention center and several event spaces around the city.

• [Minneapolis Convention Center](/venues/minneapolis-convention-center-minneapolis/), Minneapolis: the drawn plan spans about 242 x 431 feet. The venue page lists more plans for the building, so ask which hall your show is assigned and pick the matching plan.
• [Earle Brown Heritage Center](/venues/earle-brown-heritage-center-minneapolis/), Minneapolis: the drawn plan spans about 192 x 134 feet, a size for a regional expo or a conference with a tabletop hall.
• [Nicollet Island Pavilion](/venues/nicollet-island-pavilion-minneapolis/), Minneapolis: the drawn plan spans about 207 x 223 feet.
• [Royalston Square](/venues/royalston-square-minneapolis/), Minneapolis: the drawn plan spans about 236 x 222 feet.
• [Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot](/venues/renaissance-minneapolis-hotel-depot-minneapolis/), Minneapolis: the drawn plan spans about 258 x 105 feet, a long, narrow space that works for two or three rows of exhibits.
• The library also has Delta Hotels by Marriott in Minneapolis NE (about 106 x 67 feet), a size for a sponsor showcase or small tabletop expo.

St. Paul Convention Venues

The library has several listings for the Saint Paul RiverCentre, drawn at different times and for different spaces, so check which hall or level your contract names before you open a plan.

• [Saint Paul River Centre, Lower Level](/venues/saint-paul-river-center-lower-level-saint-paul/), Saint Paul: the drawn plan spans about 465 x 248 feet.
• [St Paul River Centre](/venues/saint-paul-river-center-saint-paul/), St. Paul: the drawn plan spans about 193 x 356 feet.
• [Saint Paul RiverCentre](/venues/saint-paul-rivercentre-saint-paul/), Saint Paul: this listing has several plans; the first is a narrow space of about 354 x 53 feet, so open the venue page to find the plan that matches your hall.
• A listing named [Hall A & B](/venues/hall-a-and-b-saint-paul/) in St. Paul has a plan of about 234 x 322 feet. Confirm with the venue which building and halls it shows before you use it.

Greater Minnesota and Suburban Venues

Outside the Twin Cities, regional convention centers and event venues host state association meetings, consumer shows, farm and outdoor shows and hobby expos closer to their audience.

• [Duluth Entertainment Convention Center](/venues/duluth-entertainment-convention-center-duluth/), Duluth: the drawn plan spans about 252 x 183 feet. Duluth winters can be harsh, so build a weather plan into move-in.
• [Mayo Civic Center](/venues/mayo-civic-center-rochester/), Rochester: the drawn plan spans about 365 x 285 feet, and the venue page lists a second plan.
• [River's Edge Convention Center](/venues/river-s-edge-convention-center-saint-cloud/), St. Cloud: the drawn plan spans about 296 x 276 feet, and the venue page lists a second plan.
• [Canterbury Park](/venues/canterbury-park-shakopee/), Shakopee: the drawn plan spans about 268 x 151 feet.
• [ERX Motor](/venues/erx-motor-elk-river/), Elk River: the drawn plan spans about 569 x 269 feet, a large footprint for a vehicle, powersports or outdoor show. Confirm with the venue how much of it is covered.
• The library also has the Fox Hollow Golf Course Clubhouse in St. Michael (about 97 x 72 feet), a size for a small sponsor or vendor showcase.

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, coat check, 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 and how much it costs to host a trade show. Planning elsewhere in the Midwest? See the companion lists of convention centers in Illinois and convention centers in Michigan.

Common Mistakes When Picking a Minnesota Venue

• Using the headline size of a building instead of the hall you will actually rent.
• Opening the wrong listing when a venue has several plans drawn for different halls or levels.
• Booking winter dates without a snow plan for freight, parking and attendee travel.
• Forgetting coat check and entry space in a winter layout, which eats into the floor you can sell.
• Comparing hotel space to convention center rent without adding food and beverage minimums and service charges.
• 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, with no Map D transaction fees on booth sales. 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. To see it with your own show, request a demo or build a free floor plan.