Centrally located downtown, within easy access of sightseeing, entertainment, shopping, dining, and lodging, the Omaha Civic Auditorium is a popular site for regional events as well as national conventions, trade shows, and meetings and has 122,000 square feet of floor space. The main exhibition hall, with more than 67,800 square feet of space, accommodates up to 300 booths and can be partitioned into separate meeting rooms. The multipurpose, 25,000-square-foot convention hall, providing space for 176 booths, hosts banquets and large meetings.
In 2003 the newly constructed Qwest Center Omaha and Arena debuted with its 194,000 square foot exhibition hall (that can be divided into three separate spaces) and 17,000-seat arena. Highlighted by a 31,000-square-foot ballroom, the center also has 12 meeting rooms with seating ranging from 71 to 503 guests.
The Peter Kiewit Conference Center, located in the new mall area, is operated by the College of Continuing Studies of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Accommodations include an auditorium with a seating capacity of more than 500 people, 18 meeting rooms for groups of five to 500 people, dining and catering service, and teleconferencing and computer access. Additional convention and meeting facilities are available at two clusters of hotels at 72nd and Grover Streets and 108th and L Streets; some of these offer a selection of meeting rooms for functions involving from 35 to 1,800 participants. One example is the Holiday Inn Convention Center with 61,000 square feet of meeting space featuring the 23,000 square foot "Palace Ballroom" that can seat 4,000 for receptions or 2,800 theater-style.
Convention Information: Greater Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau, 1001 Farnam St., Ste. 200, Omaha, NE 68102; telephone (402)444-4660; toll-free (866)937-6624; fax (402)444-4511