Convention Centers Transform into Downtown Business and Entertainment Hubs

Convention centers across the country are evolving from the outskirts of town to vibrant entertainment and meeting destinations that drive business, tourism and revenue.

Facilities that were once the sole domain of out-of-town conventioneers are increasingly being integrated into local communities with broad programming that is reaching new audiences.

During the VenuesNow Conference panel Convention Centers: Shifting Strategies to Align with Today’s Buyers participants discussed ways for Convention Center to grow revenue and remain competitive by combining authentic relationships, destination branding, memorable experiences and better use of technology.

Moderated by Rebecca Bolton, Regional Vice President, Oak View Group, and featuring panelists Laura Alexander, Assistant General Manager Rupp Arena/Central Bank Center; Tim O’Connor, Vice President Product Management, Momentous Technology; Michael Ross, CEO Pasadena Center Operating Company; and Greyson Rubin, Architect, Senior Associate, Populous, the meeting professionals focused on strategy.

Strong planner relationships and consistent service remains central to repeat business. And technology is increasingly a tool being used to return time to sales teams for face-to-face engagement.

The group also discussed the relationship between convention centers and the local tourism / visitors bureau, particularly where aligned missions and budgets are shared and supported. And salespeople can strengthen their impact by becoming visible experts in specific market segments and destinations.

“The one thing that what we’re seeing that can never be replaced is service,” says Alexander. “You’ve got the equipment. You’ve got the different elements for the events that are in your building. But nothing is really replacing that service.”

“That’s spot on,” added Ross. “It’s all about service. We all have buildings. We all have square footage. We all do a good job. What puts us above and beyond somebody else? And that’s one of the things that we strive for in Pasadena.”

Convention centers are increasingly tapping into the culture and flavor of their local community to create an authentic destination for attendees. Architecture, hospitality and public spaces are increasingly important in the overall experience.

In fact, the group favored better-designed, more activated spaces over simply increasing square footage. Architecture and operational design should make hospitality staff and service more visible to guests.

“The arms race in building square footage is over,” said Rubin. “There are a few cities that won that a long time ago. But now it’s about designing better spaces, not necessarily bigger spaces that people want to go to.”

Data and technology are driving change. Participants emphasized using OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and routine, regular measurement rather than treating AI as an end in itself. Momentous can use historical venue data, analytics and AI to score leads and focus proposals on opportunities that best support organizational goals.

“Everything from sales to event planning to event operations has a lot of knowledge and a lot of know how that needs to go all the way upstream to the sales team,” offers O’Connor. “Connecting those dots sometimes is where a lot of customers are finding a lot of gains in terms of reaching their goals quarter after quarter. So yes, there are a lot of really cool AI tools I can talk to you about, but AI is just a tool to get a job done.”

_Originally reported by [Pollstar](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/09/30/convention-centers-big-box-to-big-business/)._