Seattle Convention Center | |
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Address | 705 Pike Street |
Location | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
Coordinates | 47°36′43″N 122°19′53″W / 47.61194°N 122.33139°W |
Owner | Washington State Convention Center Public Facilities District |
Built | 1985–1988 |
Opened | June 18, 1988 |
Expanded | 1999–2001, 2018–2023 |
Former names |
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Enclosed space | |
• Total space | 988,422 square feet (91,827 m2) |
• Exhibit hall floor | 485,150 square feet (45,072 m2) |
• Breakout/meeting | 123,761 square feet (11,498 m2) |
• Ballroom | 102,628 square feet (9,534 m2) |
Parking | 1,490 stalls[needs update] |
Public transit access | Westlake |
Website | |
seattleconventioncenter |
The Seattle Convention Center (SCC), formerly the Washington State Convention Center (WSCC), is a convention center in Seattle, Washington, United States. It consists of two buildings in Downtown Seattle with exhibition halls and meeting rooms: Arch along Pike Street and Summit on the north side of Pine Street. The former straddles Interstate 5 and connects with Freeway Park. The convention center was planned in the late 1970s and funded through $90 million in bonds issued by the state legislature.
Construction began in September 1985 after delays in securing private funding; the complex opened on June 18, 1988. A major expansion began in 1999 and was completed in 2001, doubling the amount of exhibition space. A hotel and office tower were added, along with connections to the existing facility via a skybridge over Pike Street. At the site of the Convention Place transit station, located a block north of the original convention center, a second major expansion began in 2018 and opened in January 2023. The entire facility was renamed to the Seattle Convention Center in 2022, with the first two buildings named "Arch" and the second expansion named "Summit".
The convention center's largest annual events include PAX West (formerly the Penny Arcade Expo), Emerald City Comic Con, Sakura-Con, and the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. It has approximately 415,000 square feet (38,600 m2) of usable space, including two exhibition halls with a combined area of 237,000 square feet (22,000 m2). The convention center is located near several hotels and a major retailing center, as well as the Westlake transit station and a public parking garage.