Orange County Convention Center in Orlando guide

True to its motto as "The Center of Hospitality," the award-winning Orange County Convention Center in Orlando offers a multitude of event options in three beautiful buildings. At 7 million square feet, the convention center is the second-largest in the nation and the largest LEED Gold-certified convention center in the world.

The Orange County Convention Center and surrounding Convention Center District have recently benefited from an infusion of nearly $1 billion. Some of the top-tier convention center spaces post-investment include the recently remodeled multipurpose Tangerine Ballroom, the Sunburst room and terrace and the all-new Honeybell and Hamlin boardrooms.

RV and boat shows are ever-popular at the convention center, with hundreds of thousands of attendees drawn by the sunny Florida weather and the area's shopping and entertainment options. But conventions at the center include a much wider range than that, from fraternal organization gatherings to food and entertainment trade shows to government and environmental groups. To learn more about the possibilities as an attendee, planner or exhibitor, refer to this guide.

Location
The Orange County Convention Center has a total of three buildings located on International Drive and Universal Boulevard in Orlando.

North Building, 9400 Universal Blvd.
South Building, 9899 International Drive
West Building, 9800 International Drive

Convention center events and calendar
To keep up with the many public and private conventions, tradeshows and meetings held at the center, consult the online calendar.

How to book an event at the Orlando Convention Center
To engage with convention center staff to plan an event at the 2.1 million square feet of combined exhibit space at the facility, submit a request for proposal online.

The OCCC's list of scheduling policies helps potential contract seekers recognize how the center's booking hierarchy and scheduling priorities might affect their ability to book corporate and association-owned events, or privately owned events and ticketed events that will be made available to the general public. For questions not covered within the RFP request form, contact the OCCC Sales team at 1-800-945-3845 or by email.

Directions
The Convention Center is only minutes from the Orlando International Airport and within easy walking and driving distance of world-class dining, shopping and entertainment options. More than 23,000 on-site and off-site parking spaces fall within the district, and pedestrian bridges link the OCCC to hotel rooms. 

Complimentary pedicabs are available to transport visitors to the various concourses and four taxi companies are approved to pick up at the convention center.

To reach the Orange County Convention Center by car, choose from numerous roads including State Road 528 and Interstate 4. Look for LED message signs along International Drive, State Road 528, Universal and Westwood boulevards and Convention Way. Programmed daily, they'll direct you to the closest available event parking.

The location of taxi service varies by show. The OCCC website offers a list of taxicab companies approved to pick up at the Orlando Convention Center, complete with phone numbers and websites.

Public transportation includes I-RIDE Trolleys and the area's public bus system, LYNX, which includes routes servicing the OCCC with connections to the Orlando International Airport and Downtown Orlando.

More facts about the Orange County Convention Center:

• Amenities include high speed Wi-Fi, business centers and 50 different retail food concepts provided in the food courts, concourse and show floor locations.
• Upon request from show management, chair massage service will operate along concourses during event hours. Other potential options include shoe shine stations, bag and coat check and airline check-in.
• Center security detail maintains 24-hour hour security at the convention center, including all public areas, concourses, back-of-house areas, parking lots and related exterior grounds. OCCC also maintains an extensive relationship with the Orange County Sheriff's Office, with deputies assigned to the facility on a regular basis.
• Just the convention center's North-South building expansion took 27,000 tons of steel, compared to 5,199 tons for The Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
• OCCC includes Center-to-Table Gardens, vertical indoor gardens that produce vegetables and herbs from the Westwood Lobby. OCCC partners with Centerplate, its exclusive food service partner, for this innovative urban agriculture.
• The convention center assists clients to send 25,000 pounds of food annually to local community organizations such as Second Harvest of Central Florida, Christian Service Center and the Ronald McDonald House Charities.
• Food scraps that aren't fit for donation are still recycled into electricity and fertilizer for local farms through Harvest Power of Orlando.

For more information:
Orange County Convention Center Orlando
P.O. Box 691509
407-685-9800 or 800-345-9845
www.occc.net

For guidelines and information for potential exhibitors, email OCCC or call the Exhibitor Services team at 800-345-9898 or 407-685-9824, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Cox Media Group