Convention center guide

Exhibiting in Chicago: McCormick Place & More

McCormick Place, Rosemont, Navy Pier and the big hotel exhibit halls: what to know about exhibiting in the Windy City.

By Michael Flavin Last updated October 17, 2026

Please note: Venue rules, rates, labor requirements, and deadlines change often and vary by show. Always confirm details in your show's exhibitor manual and with the show's general contractor before you plan or budget.

Chicago is the third-largest city in the U.S., and it's one of the busiest trade show towns in the country. Most big shows here land in one of two places: McCormick Place on the lakefront, or the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center out by O'Hare in Rosemont. They're very different buildings, about as far apart as you can get in this metro, so here's what I'd want to know before I booked travel or shipped a booth to either one.

McCormick Place

McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America. It's four connected buildings (North, South, West and Lakeside Center) with 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, and 1.2 million of that is on one level. The campus also includes the 10,000-seat Wintrust Arena and two connected hotels.

173 meeting rooms with about 600,000 square feet of meeting space
4 ballrooms, from 21,000 to 100,000 square feet (the Skyline Ballroom in the West Building is the big one)
Assembly seating for 18,000
The 4,188-seat Arie Crown Theater in Lakeside Center
About 5,800 parking spaces on campus

The buildings are linked by walkways and sky bridges with shops and food along the way. That matters more than you'd think when your booth is in the South Building and your meeting is in the West Building. Give yourself extra time to get between them.

Donald E. Stephens Convention Center | Rosemont, IL

If your show is small to mid-size, there's a good chance it's in Rosemont, not downtown. The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center is in the Village of Rosemont, just minutes from O'Hare. It has 840,000 square feet of exhibit space in six halls. The largest continuous hall is 250,000 square feet (about 1,225 booths), and it can go up to 3,566 booths across multiple halls. There are also 50 meeting rooms with 92,000 square feet of meeting space.

It hosts everything from B2B trade shows to big public events like the Chicago Travel & Adventure Show, Anime Central and FAN EXPO Chicago.

Other Chicago venues I'd keep on your radar

Festival Hall at Navy Pier. Downtown on the lake. Festival Hall has 170,100 square feet that splits into Hall A (113,400 sq ft, about 600 10x10 booths) and Hall B (56,700 sq ft, about 300 booths). There are 34 meeting rooms next door and 60-foot ceilings at the center of the vault. It's a great fit for mid-size shows that want a downtown address.
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and Marriott Marquis Chicago. These are the two hotels connected to McCormick Place by sky bridges, with 2,400+ rooms between them (Hyatt 1,258; Marriott 1,205). If you can get into the show block, you can skip the shuttle entirely. The Hyatt has 57,000+ sq ft of event space and the Marriott has nearly 90,000 sq ft of meeting space, so they're also good for customer dinners and side meetings.
Wintrust Arena. The 10,000-seat arena on the McCormick campus. Some shows use it for keynotes and general sessions.
Hilton Chicago (Michigan Avenue). It has 234,000+ sq ft of meeting space, including the 119,000 sq ft Stevens Meeting Center. The hotel says it has the largest hotel exhibit space in the city. A lot of association meetings and smaller tabletop shows happen here.
Hyatt Regency Chicago (Wacker Drive). 2,032 rooms, a 70,000 sq ft exhibit hall and about 240,000 sq ft of meeting space. A $200M renovation finished in January 2026.

Shows at this venue

AHR Expo: Jan 25-27, 2027, McCormick Place

Local labor rules and EACs

Who does what. McCormick Place is a union building. According to McCormick Place's labor rules page, the show's event service contractors hire the trades that do most of the work: carpenters, decorators, electricians, plumbers, riggers, stagehands, projectionists, cleaning crews and Teamsters. McCormick Place employs the communication service technicians itself. Illinois is not a right-to-work state.

What you can do yourself. This is the one I wish every first-time Chicago exhibitor knew: McCormick Place's Exhibitor Bill of Rights lets your own full-time employees handle some of your booth setup and teardown, within limits on tools and equipment. The rules on who qualifies and what you can do are specific and they get updated, so check the current version on McCormick Place's exhibitor resources before you plan around it. It can save you real money on labor.

Using your own exhibit house (EAC). McCormick Place's first-time exhibitor page lists an Exhibitor Appointed Contractor as an option. You normally file your show's EAC form with the general contractor or show management and have the EAC send a certificate of insurance. Deadlines are often around 30 days before move-in, but go by your exhibitor manual. On site, McCormick's facility rules say EAC crews have to come in through the designated BEEP entrances and wear the wristband of the day.

Rosemont is its own building with its own rules. I couldn't verify a published labor policy for the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, so for shows there, check your show's exhibitor manual and EAC form.

Exhibitor need-to-knows

My exhibitor logistics 101 guide covers the basics that work the same in most buildings, like the advance warehouse, material handling, targeted move-in, hotel blocks and hiring local staff. Here's what's specific to Chicago.

These are the practical things I'd want to know before exhibiting in Chicago. Where I could check a venue- or city-specific detail against an official source, I've linked it. The rest is general advice that works in any convention city.

Advance warehouse or direct to show?

McCormick Place won't accept freight shipped to the building or to its truck marshaling facility before your show's licensed move-in date. If you want to ship early, McCormick Place itself says to use your general contractor's warehouse (McCormick Place).

Material handling (drayage) and how to cut it

In Chicago, know what you're allowed to carry yourself. Per McCormick Place's first-time exhibitor page, exhibitors can carry in small packages, including pop-up booths, if they can be hand-carried, but four-wheel dollies aren't allowed. McCormick Place's ASUV program also lets exhibitors with qualifying personal vehicles bring in their own materials at set times. One option, parking in a McCormick Place lot and walking your items in, costs nothing beyond the daily parking fee.

Move-in and move-out

McCormick Place runs its own truck marshaling facility at 3050 S. Moe Drive, next to Lot B at 31st Street and Lake Shore Drive. It has a certified truck scale, 24-hour staff and security cameras, and it charges fees for entrance, overnight storage and scale use (McCormick Place). Even exhibitors using the ASUV program check in at the marshaling yard office first. During the show, all freight doors close one hour before the show opens each day, and each hall keeps one door open for deliveries (McCormick Place freight guidelines).

Peak seasons and big annual shows

McCormick Place has a few anchor shows that fill the city. The National Restaurant Association Show is in May, IMTS is in September of even-numbered years and the RSNA annual meeting runs around the end of November into early December. Downtown hotel rates rise during those weeks, so book early if your show is near one of them.

Hotel strategy

Two hotels connect to McCormick Place by sky bridge: the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and the Marriott Marquis Chicago. Most other block hotels are downtown in the Loop, River North and the Magnificent Mile, with show shuttles, the Metra Electric line or the #3 bus to the building (see Getting there below). For a Rosemont show, stay in Rosemont.

Neighborhoods for client dinners

Chicago has great dinner neighborhoods. I'd look at the West Loop and Fulton Market, River North and the South Loop, which is the closest of the three to McCormick Place. In Rosemont, the area around the convention center is easy for groups. Choose Chicago has a neighborhood guide.

Last-minute printing and supplies

McCormick Place's business center is a FedEx Office on Level 2.5 of the Grand Concourse in the South Building, open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Satellite stores on Level 2 of the West Building and Level 2 of Lakeside Center open based on event activity. They do digital copying and printing, computer rentals, finishing and FedEx shipping (McCormick Place).

Wi-Fi and internet

McCormick Place is the exclusive internet and telecom provider in its own buildings. Free Wi-Fi is available in meeting rooms and public spaces, but not on the exhibit floor during show days, except in the permanent food pod areas in Halls A and F and one hotspot area per hall, unless your show buys out Wi-Fi. For your booth, you buy one of its wireless services or a wired line (McCormick Place). If you order by the advance deadline, typically 14 days before the first move-in day, McCormick Place says you can save up to 50% (first-time exhibitor page). Want to run your own access point? You need a waiver, registered ahead of time, plus a dedicated wired service of at least 6 Mbps, and McCormick Place will shut off the wired service of anyone running a non-approved wireless network on it (McCormick Place internet guidelines).

Food sampling and outside food

OVG Hospitality runs catering at McCormick Place (McCormick Place). I couldn't verify McCormick Place's current sampling rules, such as sample sizes or forms, so check your show's exhibitor manual and get approval from the caterer before you plan to hand out food or drinks. Assume outside food and beverage for your booth isn't allowed unless your manual says otherwise.

Weather and time of year

Chicago winters are cold, windy and often snowy, and storms can delay flights at O'Hare and Midway. If you're exhibiting between November and March, bring a real coat for the walk from the train or the taxi line, and leave extra time to get there. Summers are warm and humid, and the lakefront is beautiful.

Sales tax on show services

The general sales tax rate in Chicago is 10.25%. That's 6.25% state, 1% RTA, 1.25% Chicago and 1.75% Cook County. There's an extra 1% on prepared food and drinks sold for immediate consumption inside the MPEA district around McCormick Place (Illinois Department of Revenue). McCormick Place's internet FAQ also notes that city and state telecommunications taxes are added to internet orders.

Getting there

McCormick Place: The Metra Electric line has a station right inside the Grand Concourse (South Building, Level 2.5), about seven minutes from downtown's Millennium Station. On the CTA, the Green Line's Cermak-McCormick Place stop is two blocks (0.15 mile) from the West Building, and the #3 King Drive bus runs up and down Michigan Avenue past a lot of downtown hotels. For rideshare, the West Building's Gate 40 is the quickest way out.

Rosemont: Take the CTA Blue Line to the Rosemont station, one stop from O'Hare, and walk over to River Road. The convention center connects by sky bridge to nearby hotels and the parking garage. Garage parking is $20 for 24 hours.

Big show or small, Chicago has a venue that fits. Just check which one your show is in before you book a hotel. Downtown and Rosemont are a long drive apart in traffic, and picking the wrong side of town is a mistake I see every year. For hotels, transit and the rest of the city, Choose Chicago is the place to start.

Sources

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