Convention center guide

Exhibiting in Nashville: Music City Center & More

Music City Center downtown, Gaylord Opryland and the hotels around them: what to know about exhibiting in Nashville.

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.

Nashville has two big places to exhibit: Music City Center, the convention center downtown, and Gaylord Opryland, a giant resort and convention center out in the Opryland area. They're very different shows to work, so check which one yours is in before you book anything. Here's what I'd want to know before I booked travel or shipped a booth to Nashville.

Music City Center

Music City Center opened in 2013. According to its Event Planning Guide (updated September 2025), it has:

A 353,143-square-foot exhibit hall that can be split into up to five sections
Two ballrooms: the 57,500 sq ft Karl F. Dean Grand Ballroom and the 18,000 sq ft Davidson Ballroom
60 meeting rooms (90,000 sq ft) and 3 board rooms
32 loading docks and a covered garage with 1,800 spaces

Per the MCC exhibitor page, the exhibit hall floor is scored in 10 ft x 10 ft sections, and there are utility boxes every 30 feet for water, compressed air and telecom.

Expansion note: MCC says demand for space is outpacing what it has. A feasibility study released in June 2025 recommended adding 587,000 square feet, but no timeline has been set (MCC). For now, plan around the building as it is.

Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center

Gaylord Opryland is the flagship of Gaylord Hotels, about 10 minutes from Nashville International Airport. According to its fact sheet, it has:

2,888 guest rooms, including 171 suites
263,772 sq ft of contiguous exhibit space in the Ryman Exhibit Hall, with room for 1,442 10x10 booths
17 covered loading docks with direct vehicle access
Six ballrooms, the largest being the 55,314 sq ft Delta Ballroom
More than 700,000 sq ft of total meeting, exhibit, outdoor and pre-function space

It isn't downtown, so if your show is at the Gaylord, staying at the resort is the easiest way to work it.

Other Nashville venues I'd keep on your radar

Omni Nashville Hotel. Half a block from Music City Center, with 800 rooms and 80,000 sq ft of event space. It's connected to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (Omni Nashville).
JW Marriott Nashville. Downtown, with 79,000 sq ft of event space, including 50,000 sq ft on one level (JW Marriott Nashville). It works well for smaller meetings and for events that run alongside a bigger show.

Local labor rules and EACs

Who does what. Tennessee is a right-to-work state. MCC's Event Planning Guide says so too, adding that this lets show organizers "obtain labor services at the best rates and service levels available." That doesn't mean anything goes. Some services are exclusive to the building no matter who your contractor is: electrical, compressed air, water and gas; telecom and internet; food and beverage; rigging, which is handled only by MCC Rigging Services; and move-in/move-out security. MCC also won't accept freight before the contracted move-in date. After move-in starts, shipments have to be addressed to the show contractor, and the building won't take C.O.D. deliveries.

What you can do yourself. MCC doesn't publish its own rules on union jurisdictions, hand tools or what exhibitors can set up themselves. Those come from your show and its general contractor, so check your show's exhibitor manual. I couldn't find published exhibitor labor or EAC rules from Gaylord Opryland either, so the same goes there: check your show's exhibitor manual and EAC form.

Using your own exhibit house (EAC). If you want your own exhibit house or installer to set up your booth instead of the show's general contractor, that's an Exhibitor Appointed Contractor, or EAC. Whether it's allowed, and how, is set by your show. Normally you file the show's EAC form with the general contractor or show management, and the EAC sends a certificate of insurance. Deadlines are often around 30 days before move-in, but go by the date in your exhibitor manual. At Music City Center, everyone working in the building has to be on a daily call list and wear an approved ID badge, and MCC takes part in the ESCA Worker Identification & Security (WIS) program, so make sure your exhibit house's crew can get badged. I couldn't verify an MCC-wide EAC insurance requirement, so use the limits on your show's 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 Nashville.

These are the practical things I'd want to know before exhibiting in Nashville. 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?

Music City Center won't accept advance shipments before the contracted move-in date. After move-in starts, shipments go to the attention of the show contractor, and the building won't take C.O.D. deliveries (MCC Event Planning Guide). That makes the advance warehouse especially useful here. Smaller packages can go to the on-site business center, which MCC's guide labels "C/O The UPS Store Business Center." At Gaylord Opryland, follow the resort's receiving rules in your manual.

Move-in and move-out

MCC's guide shows a marshaling yard for Music City Center, the Nashville Marshalling Yard at 501 S. 2nd St., and says to contact your event manager about truck marshaling (MCC Event Planning Guide). Your manual will say whether your show uses it. Contractors use the Contractor Entrance at 700 Korean Veterans Boulevard.

Peak seasons and big annual shows

Nashville's big shows rotate, so check the Music City Center calendar for what else is in town during your dates. The week that fills every downtown hotel is CMA Fest in June, so avoid it if you can, or book very early.

Hotel strategy

For Music City Center, the Omni Nashville is half a block away, and a lot of downtown hotels are walkable. For Gaylord Opryland, stay at the resort. It's a long way from downtown in traffic, and the show will be built around the resort's rooms.

Neighborhoods for client dinners

I'd look at The Gulch, SoBro (right around Music City Center), Midtown and Germantown. Lower Broadway is fun, but it's loud, so it's not where I'd take a customer to talk business. Visit Music City has a neighborhood guide.

Last-minute printing and supplies

Music City Center has a full-service business center in the level two lobby. It handles shipping, mailing, faxing and copying, and specializes in printing conference materials. It's open at least Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (615-401-1495) (MCC Event Planning Guide).

Wi-Fi and internet

MCC provides technology services exclusively. It offers free Wi-Fi for attendees throughout the building, including the exhibit halls, and wired internet over CAT6 or fiber connections located every 30 feet. There's also an in-building cellular system for AT&T and Verizon (MCC Event Planning Guide). For booth service, MCC's rates are on its service order forms at nashvillemcc.com/utilities. At Gaylord Opryland, the resort's provider handles it.

Food sampling and outside food

MCC's exclusive caterer controls food and beverage. You can sample only with the caterer's written authorization, only if you normally produce or sell the product, and only within its sample-size policy. No outside food or beverage is allowed, except pre-approved samples (MCC Event Planning Guide).

Weather and time of year

Nashville summers are hot and humid. Spring is beautiful but can bring severe storms. Winter is usually mild, but a little ice or snow can slow the city down more than you'd expect.

Sales tax on show services

Sales tax in Nashville is 9.25%, and MCC's guide says show managers, exhibitors and contractors have to collect sales tax as required by the Tennessee Department of Revenue (MCC Event Planning Guide).

Getting there

Nashville International Airport (BNA) is the airport for both venues. WeGo Public Transit's Route 18 runs between BNA and WeGo Central downtown for $2, and express trips take about 20 minutes (WeGo). If you're driving to Music City Center, its 1,800-space garage is at 701 Demonbreun Street. The main entrance is 201 Rep. John Lewis Way South, and deliveries go to 700 Korean Veterans Boulevard (MCC maps and parking). Gaylord Opryland is about 10 minutes from the airport.

Nashville is a fun show town. Just know which venue you're in before you book a hotel, because downtown and Opryland aren't next door to each other. For hotels and the rest of the city, Visit Music City is the place to start.

Sources

All convention center guides

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