McCormick Place

  McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America and attracts over four million merchants and visitors annually for business negotiations. Composed of four interconnected buildings and an indoor arena, it is located about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) south of downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan in Illinois, United States. McCormick Place hosts numerous trade fairs and conferences. The largest regular events include the Chicago Auto Show in February, the International Home and Housewares Show in March, and the National Restaurant Association's annual show in May.

  McCormick Place consists of four state-of-the-art buildings: West, South, North, and Lakeside Center. Together, they offer a total of 2.6 million square feet of exhibition space and 1.2 million square feet of meeting space, making it the largest convention center in the United States.The North Building, completed in 1986, is located west of Lake Shore Drive and is connected to the East Building via a covered pedestrian bridge. Contrasting with the dark, flat profile of the eastern building, the North Building is white (like the original building), with 12 concrete towers on the roof supported by 72 cables. The HVAC system is integrated into the towers, giving the building a sail-like appearance. The North Building has approximately 600,000 square feet of main exhibition space.

  Designed by tvsdesign and opened in 1997, the South Building boasts over 1.0 million square feet of exhibition space. It more than doubles the combined square footage of the complex, making McCormick Place the largest convention center in the United States. Built on the site of the former McCormick Hotel, a 25-story, 619-room hotel constructed in 1973 as part of the McCormick Place urban complex, which was demolished in 1993.

  In August 2, 2007, the managers of McCormick Place added another building to the complex—the West Building, also designed by tvsdesign and completed 8 months ahead of schedule at a cost of 882 million dollars. The publicly funded West Building contains 470,000 square feet of exhibition space, bringing the existing exhibition space at McCormick Place to 2.67 million square feet. The West Building also features 250,000 square feet of meeting space, including 61 meeting rooms, as well as a 100,000 square foot ballroom, one of the largest in the world.

  With the opening of the Wintrust Arena in October 2017, McCormick Place continued to expand. The Wintrust Arena, with seating for 10,387, is located north of the West Building on Cermak Road. The new arena will host DePaul University men's and women's basketball games and WNBA Chicago Sky matches. The new venue features 22 suites, 479 club seats, and 2 VIP lounges. In addition to NBA and WNBA basketball, the arena is equipped to host concerts, sporting events, meetings, and conferences, along with other facilities at the McCormick Place complex.