Baltimore and more …

With many venues capable of hosting conferences and events in the city, it is the Baltimore Convention Center that is by far the best known building and space for exhibitions, events and conferences. The convention center was originally opened in 1979; but it was more than doubled in size to 1.225 million square feet in 1997 following a major extension and program of refurbishment. The latest development to the centre was the opening in the summer of 2008 of a 750 bed Hilton Hotel, adjacent to the convention center, for delegates and exhibitors to use.

The Baltimore Convention Center is jointly owned in a public-private partnership. The day-to-day running and organization of the center is carried out by the BACVA (Baltimore Area Convention and Visitor Association). Whilst the BACVA annually deals with over 400,000 enquiries and visitors to the city; they are keenly aware of the need to constantly develop and increase the trade of the convention center. As well as hosting conferences and exhibitions; other events at the Baltimore Convention Centre include it being used as a venue for touring rock, music and other large scale entertainments; that can attract audiences bigger than can be accommodated in other Baltimore venues. However, the BACVA is aware that such events usually attract only a local audience, whereas by hosting major conferences and exhibitions there is more expenditure in the city by visitors from outside of it; thereby benefiting the whole economy of the city. In this respect the BACVA has quite a struggle on its hands. Being within commuting distance of the capital city, Washington DC, and having New York barely 200 miles away; Baltimore has difficulty attracting the truly international conferences and events; rather than local or nationally touring ones.

Also dedicated to holding conferences and events, in Baltimore, is the Mount Washington Conference Center, on Smith Avenue to the North West of the city centre. One of the Aramark-Harrison Conference Centers; this is a small conference center that is really better suited to small events of around 100 delegates. Whilst there are 45 bedrooms available on-site, there is also a wide selection of hotels nearby, to suit everyone’s budget. A key feature of the Mount Washington Conference Center is the historic Octagon. Built in 1855 it has eight exquisitely appointed accommodation suites with an atrium and dining hall that can hold up to 100 people. The Octagon rooms can only be booked by one organization at a time, to maintain their exclusive appeal. Another small conference facility in the city is the American Baptist Conference Center, to the south of Baltimore city on Greenwich Avenue. Whilst it is mainly used for religious conferences and events it can also be hired by non-profit and socially orientated service providers. It has on-site accommodation for 30 people along with its rooms that are suitable for smaller conferences and events. The four conference rooms can accommodate between 20 and 60 people and there is also a hall suitable for small exhibitions that can easily accommodate in excess of 100 people. The centers dining room can seat up to 80 people at a time. Some 85 miles outside of Baltimore is the Osprey Point Retreat & Conference Center, if a more rural location is required for a conference or event facility. This is a small hotel/conference and event center and is out at Royal Oak; it can only accommodate 54 guests, which is also the maximum number of delegates it advises for events staged there.

Should you need a truly enormous venue for a conference or special event; the M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens football team, has a capacity of 71,000. It also offers smaller meeting rooms, including using the 119 suites at the stadium that are each suitable for around 20 people at a time.

Some of the larger hotels in Baltimore are able to offer suitable conference and event facilities for smaller conventions and exhibitions. Examples here include the Intercontinental Hotel at Harbor Court, which has a 10,000 square foot hall available for use and the Crown Plaza, in North Baltimore, which has over 20,000 square feet of floor-space for conferences and events, including space for an 1100 seat theater style event.