Tampa Convention Center has won Best Convention Center in the Southeast U.S. for the second year in a row. The center took the top honor of gold in the prestigious Stella Awards.
“Tampa Convention Center team is proud to have repeated the title of best convention center in the region,” said David Ingram, Tampa Convention Center Executive Director. “We truly have a winning team here made up of the best event professionals and service partners in the industry. This award is well-deserved recognition for our dedicated team.”
The Stella Awards are the highest honor in the meetings industry. They recognize convention centers, conference centers, hotels, and other event suppliers that consistently deliver exceptional service to meeting and event professionals.
Winners were determined by:
• Overall excellence
• Superb food and beverage offerings
• Professionalism of staff
• Sustainability initiatives
... and other critical aspects of the meetings and events experience.
The Stella Awards are presented by Northstar Meetings Group, which is known for its influential brands including Meetings & Conventions, Meeting News, Incentive and Successful Meetings.
A record number of convention centers, hotels, and other venues competed for the 8th Annual Stella Awards. More than 1,000 nominations were submitted across 16 categories and six regions worldwide. Recipients were selected after a rigorous vetting process by a panel of judges made up of industry experts. More than 8,000 planners and members of the public voted on the applicants.
About Tampa Convention Center
Located in the heart of Downtown Tampa, the Tampa Convention Center offers sparkling waterfront views, 600,000 square feet of transformable event spaces, and state-of-the-art amenities for event and meeting planners. The venue was named among 20 Centers of Excellence by Exhibitor Magazine, which features North America’s best convention centers for trade shows and corporate events, and was selected as a winner in ConventionSouth’s 2023 Readers’ Choice Awards. The facility is hosting a record number of large, citywide events in 2024. It is expected to bring an estimated economic impact of more than $148 million dollars and more than 358,000 attendees to the City of Tampa over the year.
The Tampa Convention Center partners with several companies to provide high-quality event services to event managers and exhibitors, including Aramark for exclusive food and beverage, Edlen for exclusive utilities, Encore for audio visual and exclusive rigging, Sentry Event Services for security, Smart City for exclusive Internet and telecommunications, The UPS Store for shipping, printing, branding, and signs, and Xpodigital for digital signage.