By Natalie Compagno, Smart Meetings — Convention centers are like people—they each have their own personality and they all look a little different. But just like humans, they share similarities, as well. Convention centers all have welcoming conference rooms, well-tailored food service, changeable spaces to cater to all kinds of group needs, and capable, friendly staff who assist with planners’ needs.

 

Meetings have their own personalities, too. Small or large, the bonding experiences they create shape them for the present and the future. Part of discovering the charm of a city and its conference center is getting to know the distinct character these dedicated campuses offer. We want you to meet some of these award-winners, divas, adventurers, revelers, artists, farmers, nightlife lovers and more.

 

 

“There’s no nightlife in Utah,” said Golden State Warriors basketball player Matt Barnes about moving on to play the Utah Jazz in the playoffs this year. Predictably, the Internet went crazy, but Scott Beck, president of Visit Salt Lake, jumped on it as an opportunity.

 

Actually, SLC has been pumping and catering to night owls for a long time. Jazz fans started the hashtag #Nightlife and Beck and his team quickly created the site, There’s Nothing to Do in Salt Lake, featuring all the fun things to experience, including 1,700 restaurants and seven microbreweries.

 

Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center, more commonly known as the Salt Palace, has nearly 700,000 sq. ft. of exhibit and meeting room space; 10 exhibit halls; a gorgeous grand ballroom with dozens of modular meeting rooms, 1,000 underground parking stalls and 40 loading docks; and 515,000 sq. ft. of contiguous exhibit hall space, divisible into nine halls. It’s a great choice by day or night.