Convention Centers in Pennsylvania Guide

Pennsylvania gives organizers convention centers at both ends of the state, in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, plus convention centers in Lancaster and Altoona, an agricultural expo building at the Allentown Fairgrounds, resort and casino venues in the Poconos and King of Prussia, and downtown hotels with exhibit space. Below are the Pennsylvania convention centers and expo venues 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 between a convention hall, a fairgrounds building and a resort, 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 PA Convention Centers

This is not a ranking and not a complete directory of every venue in Pennsylvania. It is a working list of venues 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. Some buildings have more than one listing, 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.

Philadelphia Expo Venues and the Philadelphia Suburbs

Philadelphia draws national shows from across the Northeast corridor, and the suburbs to the west add casino and resort space. Plans in the library cover part of each building, so ask the venue which hall or level your show would actually be assigned.

• [Pennsylvania Convention Center](/venues/pennsylvania-convention-center-philadelphia/), Philadelphia: the drawn plan measures about 389 x 482 feet.
• [Philadelphia Marriott Downtown / Franklin](/venues/philadelphia-marriott-downtown-franklin-philadelphia/), Philadelphia: the drawn plan titled "Hall A" measures about 102 x 110 feet, a size that fits a tabletop exhibit or a sponsor hall beside a conference.
• [Valley Forge Casino Resort](/venues/valley-forge-casino-resort-king-of-prussia/), King of Prussia: the drawn plan measures about 295 x 319 feet. A second listing for Valley Forge Casino has a plan of about 319 x 375 feet, so ask which space your contract covers.

Pittsburgh Expo Venues

Pittsburgh is the main convention city in western Pennsylvania, and a practical choice for shows that also draw from Ohio and West Virginia.

• [David L. Lawrence Convention Center](/venues/david-l-lawrence-convention-center-pittsburgh/), Pittsburgh: the drawn plan titled "Level 2" measures about 882 x 576 feet. Ask early how freight reaches the exhibit level and where trucks wait during move-in.
• [Pittsburgh Marriott City Center](/venues/pittsburgh-marriott-city-center-pittsburgh/), Pittsburgh: the drawn plan measures about 60 x 87 feet, closer to a meeting room than an exhibit hall, which can suit a small tabletop show or a poster session.

Central Pennsylvania Convention Centers

Central Pennsylvania has convention centers and hotel space that suit statewide associations, regional trade shows and consumer shows. Rental terms can be simpler than in the big cities, but check exactly what the rate includes.

• [Lancaster County Convention Center](/venues/lancaster-county-convention-center-lancaster/), Lancaster: the drawn plan measures about 286 x 235 feet. The library also has two combined listings with the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square, with plans of about 311 x 161 feet and 325 x 169 feet, so compare them against the space you would rent.
• [Blair County Convention Center](/venues/blair-county-convention-center-altoona/), Altoona: the drawn plan measures about 215 x 153 feet, a size that fits a regional expo or a vendor fair.
• [Wyndham Garden York](/venues/wyndham-garden-york-york/), York: the drawn plan measures about 104 x 102 feet, a ballroom-size space for tabletop exhibits and small vendor shows.

Eastern Pennsylvania Fairgrounds and Resort Venues

The Lehigh Valley and the Poconos add a fairgrounds expo building and a resort convention center. Fairgrounds buildings often suit farm shows, home and garden shows, gun and hobby shows, and craft fairs; resorts suit association meetings that want a destination and on-site rooms.

• [Agri-Plex at the Allentown Fairgrounds](/venues/agri-plex-allentown-fairgrounds-allentown/), Allentown: the drawn plan measures about 285 x 244 feet. The plan shows one building on the grounds, so ask which buildings and outdoor areas your rental includes.
• [Kalahari Resorts & Convention Center](/venues/kalahari-resorts-and-convention-center-pocono-manor/), Pocono Manor: the drawn plan measures about 203 x 238 feet. A second listing for Kalahari Resorts & Conventions has a plan of about 202 x 236 feet. Resort venues often tie the rental to a room block and food and beverage minimums.

If you are comparing Pennsylvania with neighboring states, see the companion lists of convention centers in Ohio and convention centers in New York. For fairgrounds budgets, our guide to how much it costs to rent a fairground lists the fees to expect.

How to Choose a Pennsylvania 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 gross space you need, and the booth capacity calculator works the other way, from a hall size to a booth count.

2. Convention Hall, Fairgrounds Building or Resort

• Convention 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.
• Fairgrounds building: Flexible, often lower cost, sometimes with outdoor space or barns next door. Good for consumer shows, farm shows and markets; in Pennsylvania, check heating for winter dates and climate control for summer dates.
• Resort, casino or hotel ballroom: Often carpeted, with lower ceilings and airwalls, usually with food and beverage minimums and a room block. Suits association, medical and tech shows with a conference attached.

3. Labor Rules, Load-In and Freight

Big-city 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 a 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.

4. Fire Code, Columns and Utilities

Columns, exits, fire hose cabinets and electrical access shape where booths can go. Mark them on the venue plan before you number booths, 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 Pennsylvania 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 trade show management software connects that map to booth sales, exhibitor tasks and invoices.

Common Mistakes When Picking a Pennsylvania 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 hotel ballroom for exhibitors who need forklift delivery or vehicles on the floor.
• Booking a fairgrounds building for winter dates without confirming heating.
• 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.