Testimonials

"We started our book signing event at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in 2014 and have been coming back ever since!

We've looked into moving it to a hotel, but the options, costs and functionality that the Convention Center offers us cannot be matched. We are currently planning our 9th year of this event and waiting for our dates for the next. 

Over the years no matter who has been our sales manager or event manager, they have gone above and beyond to make sure our event is a success.  Mary Ann Torres was a DREAM to work with as an event manager.

Thank you for being our continued partner in our venture to bring readers and authors together!"

— Jennifer Wolfel, Wolfel and Associates Invides Invade Philly

"Throughout the planning of our Convention, we had a true partnership with the Pennsylvania Convention Center staff. We began the production for our event over a major holiday weekend and the staff worked with us to ensure we could set up early and were ready to start on time. We appreciate everything they did to make our event a success. The employees and unions at the Pennsylvania Convention Center work hard and provide quality services. They are responsive, professional, and willing to assist at the drop of a hat, no matter how big or small the task at hand."

— Jillian J.P. Matundan, Director, Conference and Travel Services, The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFCSME)

"Since 2016, I have enjoyed planning Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID) at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. GMID is an annual event when the hospitality industry comes together to celebrate the irreplaceable value of in-person meetings, conferences, trade shows, and events. 

Russell Kice, Senior National Sales Manager; Stephanie Boyd, Director of Sales and Marketing; and Mary Ann Torres, Director of Event Management and Business Analysis, along with the entire audio-visual staff, make planning the meeting a breeze. It always feels good planning a meeting with a venue that is enthusiastic about being our host, and that enthusiasm shows throughout the entire planning process and while we are onsite.

I look forward to continuing our partnership!"

— Erica Keagy, Administrator, PCMA Greater Philadelphia and New York Chapters

“Philadelphia delivers on all points as a destination for IAEE’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition, Expo! Expo!. As the show organizer, I am impressed with the level of support and professionalism from both the Philadelphia CVB and the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The Philadelphia CVB has the team and the resources to incorporate Philadelphia’s rich culture and history into the event’s marketing and onsite plans. Downtown Philadelphia offers walkability between hotels, convention center, attractions, restaurants, and the famed Reading Terminal Market, adding substantial value to the attendee experience. I recommend any planner consider Philadelphia as a destination for its future meetings. It will attract attendees with its rich and authentic visitor experience, and with its ease of accessibility to and from major population centers by any mode of transportation.”

— Scott Craighead, Vice President of Exhibitions and Events, International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE)

"The Pennsylvania Convention Center has been home to our American Handcrafted show for decades. Our attendees enjoy coming back to the beautiful state-of-the-art event space, friendly staff, and convenience of being in the heart of downtown Philadelphia. Being at the PCC means you are directly above the Reading Terminal, surrounded by art museums, historical landmarks, and so much more. We look forward to many more decades with our partners at PCC.”

— Sarah Wilson, Group Show Director, Emerald X

"Our association of sales and meeting sales professionals, a tough crowd for ANY meeting location to welcome, had their expectations met and surpassed by the excellent service we received throughout our conference at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.  The attentive planning staff, the on-site production team, the excellent food and beverage service/presentation and the entire follow-through of our event was handled with the highest degree of professionalism and customer service a meeting planner could hope to find when choosing a location for their event.  Kudos to everyone at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on a job well done!"

— Morgan Christopher, Managing Director, CSPI

"Natural Products Expo East 2021 was a wild ride from start to finish. However, the Pennsylvania Convention Center and Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau really stepped up to ensure we received the best possible service and experience planning our first event in their venue and city. We instantly felt like we had developed a strong level of trust with the venue. The team anticipated our needs even before we could vocalize them.

They had our backs through every challenge and curveball that 2021 threw at us. Furthermore, they showed extra commitment to the goals we set for ourselves. We wanted to win the TSNN Most Sustainable Show award and they continually worked with us to make our dream come true! (Side note: we won!) Their own level of commitment to sustainability, safety and exceptional events is evident in the time and effort put into helping us plan our event as well as onsite.

We are thankful for their partnership and excited to continue that partnership for years to come!"

— Sharon Zittle, Director of Operations, Informa

“Philadelphia has been on our radar since we last held our conference there in 2003. The city’s prime location along the East Coast, its growing minority business community and its wealth of attractions, among other things, creates an ideal backdrop to host some of our nation’s top professionals. With more customer-friendly work rules now in place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, we are pleased to be bringing our Conference & Expo back to Philadelphia in 2017.”

— Jesse Tyson, President & CEO, National Black MBA Association

“We didn’t hear ‘no’ in that building as we were going through this process on any level, whether that was from labor or from management or anywhere within the structure. What we heard was ‘what’re you trying to accomplish? Let us give you some other ideas of how that might be possible’ if my idea wasn’t necessarily the best way.”

— Greg Talley, president and CEO of Talley Management Group, which served as lead logistics partner for the 2015 World Meeting of Families

“[Philadelphia is] an epicenter for groundbreaking cancer research and related biomedical science. We look forward to welcoming more than 18,500 laboratory cancer researchers, oncologists in a variety of disciplines, representatives from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and patient advocates from around the world next April at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. This is a huge, complex scientific meeting, and ASM Global and the PHLCVB have been very enthusiastic, professional and responsive to our needs throughout this entire process.”

— Margaret Foti, PhD, MD, CEO, American Association for Cancer Research

“All my needs have been met and all of my expectations have been exceeded.”

 

- Ken Barnes, Executive Director, Omega Psi Phi Inc.