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Since opening its doors in 1988, the Seattle Convention Center has been the Northwest’s premier meetings and events facility. We welcome thousands of visitors from around the globe each year, offering industry-leading service, award-winning catering and a comprehensive range of services for event planners, exhibitors and guests.
We strive for the extraordinary; providing unmatched guest satisfaction is one of our primary goals. To achieve that, our Mission, Vision and Service Promise are an integral part of our culture. Together these values guide our employees and hold us to the standards our guests deserve and expect.
Seattle Convention Center elevates and enhances Seattle’s global brand and reputation. Driving economic benefits through the power of meetings and conventions, the Center plays a major role as a catalyst for revitalizing and reconnecting downtown Seattle and its neighborhoods. SCC will lead with industry partners a commitment to workforce development and diversity, creating a distinct level of customer service excellence, sustainable operations, financial stability contributing significant civic benefits for the people of the City, County and State.
Creating extraordinary space to connect, collaborate, and innovate.
By doing ordinary things in an extraordinary manner we will earn the privilege of serving our guests again.
The history of the Seattle Convention Center reflects that of the region: Continually expanding, growing, and innovating.
In the early 1970s, a group of community leaders from the public and private sectors conceived the notion of building a convention center in Seattle to foster new economic development and increase hotel occupancy rates. In 1982, by action of the state legislature, a public non-profit corporation was established to acquire land and to design, construct, promote and operate the original convention center. A site adjacent to and above Interstate 5 was selected, and initial construction began in the fall of 1985, continuing for nearly three years. The first scheduled event took place on June 18, 1988.
By the early 1990s, increasing demand for exhibition space and Seattle as a destination made it clear that the Center would need to grow. Plans were made to effectively double the available event space by building an adjoining and connected facility to the north across Pike Street.
On July 9, 2001, little more than two years after beginning construction, a ribbon was cut to officially open the expanded convention center. That project spurred other building and revitalization projects, creating an economic base for sustained growth in the downtown core. Hotels, restaurants, shops, office towers, and high-rise condominiums and apartments now occupy street frontage that was previously underutilized or vacant.
The Center expanded again in July 2010 with the opening of Arch at 800 Pike. Located at the northeast corner of 8th Avenue and Pike Street, this LEED-certified space was originally designated to be the new home of the Museum of History and Industry following the 2001 expansion. As the needs of the museum changed, the Center acquired the property and began a complete conversion of the four-level building. Its 71,000 square feet provided the space necessary to accommodate groups whose requirements exceeded those of the original building. Combined, Arch at 800 Pike and Arch at 705 Pike offer 414,722 square feet of meeting and exhibit space.
In 2011, the Washington State Convention Center shifted from operating as a nonprofit managed by the state to a public facilities district. Authorized by the state legislature in April of 2010 and subsequently created by King County, the Washington State Convention Center Public Facilities District (PFD) is responsible for the Center’s management, operations, capital improvements and financial success.
On April 18, 2022, the Washington State Convention Center, still under the management of the PFD, changed its operating name to Seattle Convention Center (SCC), tying the facility to its hometown and helping guests assimilate into the destination city.
SCC grew again in 2018 when ground was broken for a new building a block away from Arch.
Summit, the additional building, opened its doors in January 2023. Summit nearly doubles the size of SCC with 573,770 square feet of event space. The LEED Platinum-certified building is the first high-rise convention center in the United States. Summit features an outdoor terrace garden, spacious ballroom, and sweeping views of surrounding Seattle that will draw substantial attendee numbers year-round.
The SCC campus is now composed of Arch at 705 Pike, the original building; Arch at 800 Pike; Summit, one block north on Pine Street; and three parking garages.
SCC has a longstanding commitment to positively impact the lives of those in our region and beyond, advancing the common good. The legacy of our civic actions for the community has held true since we began in 1988.
