The Raleigh Convention Center has received the 2025 Venue Excellence Award from the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), one of only five who were so honored.
The award recognizes IAVM venues of any type within the membership demonstrating excellence in the management and operation of public assembly venues.
“We’re thrilled to be recognized by our peers as an industry-leading venue. The Raleigh Convention Center team is full of exceptional people who care about making everyone who comes through our doors feel special,” said General Manager Mara Craft in a media announcement. “This award embodies what we’ve worked toward for the more than 20 years I’ve been here, creating a venue where excellent moments happen.”
The Raleigh Convention Center has welcomed over 6.5 million guests and generated over $963 million in economic impact since opening in 2008. In the past year, the Center hosted 163 events over 332 event days, with 379,431 guests.
In addition to the high hosting numbers, the award-winning team at the Raleigh Convention Center has consistently worked to be industry leaders in security, sustainability, and accessibility. Staff are trained in crowd safety, accessibility for neurodiversity, and the facility also is LEED Silver certified.
Among the amenities at the facility are its signature coffee shop, offering themed drinks for events. The center is currently planning an additional 350,000 sq. ft., allowing the venue to host more and larger events.
The Venue Excellence Award was presented at IAVM’s VenueConnect event in New Orleans, July 28-31.
About The Complex
The Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex (“The Complex”) encompasses four city-owned and managed facilities that bring together residents, out-of-town visitors and a host of performing artists from around the country and the world.
In the heart of North Carolina’s vibrant capital city, three of the four venues welcome some one million visitors to downtown Raleigh each year. The award-winning, 500,000-sf Raleigh Convention Center is a leader in innovation, sustainability and guest experience. Next door sits the city’s signature open-air music venue, Red Hat Amphitheater, with 6,000 seats and a buzzworthy schedule of musical performances.
A short walk away—and sharing the award with the convention center—the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts offers four unique theaters, seating from 150 to 2,369, and is home to resident companies Carolina Ballet, North Carolina Symphony, North Carolina Opera and PineCone. Beyond Downtown Raleigh, Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek boasts a 20,000-person capacity amphitheater on 77 rolling green acres and regularly packs the house with big-name acts.
More information: raleighconvention.com/complex
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