Iowa Events Center
- Hosts trade shows and conventions
Exhibition centers in Des Moines cluster in two places: downtown, where Interstates 80 and 35 meet, and the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Four venues share this page. Two belong to the Iowa Events Center downtown, and two are exhibit buildings on the fairgrounds that also handle livestock shows, concerts and trade shows.
Iowa Events Center sits downtown, minutes from Des Moines International Airport. Its Community Choice Convention Center and EMC Expo Center offer 150,000 square feet of continuous exhibit space, 40 meeting rooms and a large ballroom, for conventions, meetings, tradeshows and sporting events of 10 to 17,100 people. Parking is paid, in lots and on the street. It is rated 4.5 from 1,784 reviews.
Community Choice Convention Center is one of the three facilities of the Iowa Events Center, next to the EMC Expo Center and Casey's Center. Built in 1955 as an auditorium and later repurposed, it has 29 meeting rooms, a ballroom of 28,730 square feet and Memorial Hall, a tribute to Iowa's military past, present and future. A hotel is connected, and the airport is 10 minutes away. It is rated 4.6 from 262 reviews.
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Jacobson Center
- Hosts trade shows and conventions
- On-site parking
- Loading docks / drive-in access
Bruce L. Rastetter 4-H Exhibits Building
- Hosts trade shows and conventions
- On-site parking
- Loading docks / drive-in access
Community Choice Convention Center
- Hosts trade shows and conventions
- Connected hotel
- On-site parking
The Richard O. Jacobson Exhibition Center, known as Jacobson Center, was completed in 2010 on the Iowa State Fairgrounds and hosts events ranging from livestock and trade shows to concerts. The climatized building has a show arena, a covered warm-up arena and fixed seating for approximately 3,300. Its largest hall is 32,000 square feet, and maximum capacity is 3,400 people. It has loading docks, on-site parking and a public event calendar, and it is rated 4.6 from 642 reviews.
Bruce L. Rastetter 4-H Exhibits Building is a one-story, fully enclosed, heated brick building on the same fairgrounds, with clerestory windows and carved stone on the exterior. It covers over 41,000 square feet of exhibit space, 36,166 square feet of it in the main exhibition hall, with classrooms off the south corridor of 1,470 and 990 square feet that can be combined. The airport is 20 minutes away, and it is rated 4.5 from 444 reviews.
Common questions about exhibition centers in Des Moines
Where does Des Moines have continuous exhibit space downtown?
Iowa Events Center reports 150,000 square feet of continuous exhibit space across its Community Choice Convention Center and EMC Expo Center, along with 40 meeting rooms. It serves events of 10 to 17,100 people, and parking is paid, in lots and on the street.
Where can a livestock show and trade show share one Des Moines building?
Jacobson Center, the Richard O. Jacobson Exhibition Center on the Iowa State Fairgrounds, hosts livestock and trade shows to concerts. It has a show arena, a covered warm-up arena and fixed seating for approximately 3,300, and loading docks are available.
How far are the Des Moines exhibition venues from the airport?
Iowa Events Center sits minutes from Des Moines International Airport, and Community Choice Convention Center is 10 minutes away. Bruce L. Rastetter 4-H Exhibits Building on the fairgrounds is 20 minutes from the airport.
Is there a hotel connected to a Des Moines convention venue?
Community Choice Convention Center has a connected hotel and is one of the three facilities of the Iowa Events Center, next to the EMC Expo Center and Casey's Center. It has 29 meeting rooms and a ballroom of 28,730 square feet.