All-inValue pick
10×20 inlinePX-150
Full Photo Back Wall and Stepped Side Wall
$11,9504 items · all-in
All-in pricing in Chicago
Trade show booth rental in Chicago
Venues we install at: McCormick Place, Navy Pier, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center..
10×20 from$11,950all-in
20×20 from$19,400all-in
Chicago vs Las Vegas+45%install labor and freight
Drayage, rough$175per 100 lb, billed by the show
Designs to rent in Chicago
Popular sizes, priced for Chicago
The cheapest, a mid-range and a top design in each of the three most-rented sizes. Every price is all-in for a show in Chicago.
All-inValue pick
10×20 inlinePX-150
Full Photo Back Wall and Stepped Side Wall
$11,9504 items · all-in
All-in
10×20 inlinePX-211
Storage Room and Full-Width Graphic Wall
Storage roomScreens
$19,25010 items · all-in
All-in
10×20 inlinePX-013
Video Wall and Hanging Sign
Storage roomLED video wallHanging sign
$39,60011 items · all-in
All-inValue pick
20×20 peninsulaPX-305
Layered Graphic Back Wall and Long Reception Counter
$19,4006 items · all-in
All-in
20×20 islandPX-294
Tall Display Towers and Central Meeting Nook
Meeting room
$32,0507 items · all-in
All-in
20×20 islandPX-046
Square Hanging Sign and Video Wall
Storage roomLED video wallHanging sign
$57,30012 items · all-in
All-inValue pick
20×30 islandPX-324
Large Square Hanging Sign and Graphic Cube
Hanging signScreens
$28,5006 items · all-in
All-in
20×30 islandPX-331
Square Hanging Sign and Equipment Display Floor
Hanging sign
$41,2006 items · all-in
All-in
20×30 islandPX-065
Product Shelving and Header Frame
Screens
$57,00011 items · all-inLocal know-how
Exhibiting in Chicago: what to know
What we check for every Chicago show, with sources. We handle all of it as part of the all-in price.
How drayage is billed
Drayage (material handling) is billed per hundredweight (cwt = 100 lb), rounded up to the next 100 lb, usually with a 200 lb (2 cwt) minimum per shipment; it covers moving freight from dock or warehouse to the booth, storing empty crates, and returning it to the dock after the show. Cost = rate x (weight / 100). Special handling (uncrated, loose, ground unload) and overtime cost more; late arrivals after the warehouse deadline get a surcharge. Some contractors (Freeman, GES Material Handling+) now bill per pound instead of per cwt.
Labor rules
- Illinois law (70 ILCS 210/5.4) and McCormick Place's Exhibitor Bill of Rights let an exhibitor's own employees set up and dismantle a booth of ANY size, hang signs/graphics and run electrical/AV equipment in the booth (source 1, 2)
- Exhibitor employees may use their own ladders, hand tools, cordless and power tools source
- 'Exhibitor employee' means a full-time employee for at least 6 months before the show; proof (W-2 or payroll) may be demanded within 24 hours source
- Exhibitors may not use forklifts, scissor lifts, pallet jacks, scaffolding, motorized dollies or similar equipment; the right cannot be transferred to an outside contractor's crew source
Drayage (moving your freight to the booth)
- Freeman AAO page (McCormick Place, appears to be 2018): warehouse crated $124.00/cwt, special handling $154.75/cwt; show-site crated $122.00/cwt, special handling $152.25/cwt; late shipments +25% source
- GES, Automate 2026 at McCormick Place: special handling +35%, uncrated +60%, off-target +30%, late-to-warehouse +30%, storage $9.05/cwt/month (base rate not shown) source
Shipping deadlines
- Freeman's Chicago advance warehouse is at 2500 W. 35th St., Chicago; freight addressed c/o Freeman with booth number and show name source
Electrical and utilities
- Edlen's Chicago branch (opened 2011) services McCormick Place; exclusivity not stated in what was found source
Rules and rates change by show. Your show's exhibitor kit is the final word; we check it for you before we quote.
All-in pricing
What every Chicago price includes
1Design and planningWe adapt the design to your booth space and send a rendering with your graphics.
2ProductionStructure, printed graphics, lighting and built counters made in our shop.
3Furniture, AV and flooringEverything shown in the design, from screens to stools to carpet.
4Shipping both waysFreight to the show and back, crated and tracked.
5Install and dismantleOur crew builds it before opening day and takes it down after.
6Logistics and paperworkShow forms, service orders, deadlines and vendor calls handled for you.
7Project manager on siteOne contact from first sketch to the last crate, with a supervisor at install.
8No surprise invoicesOne fixed price. The only extras are paid to the show at actual cost.
Not includedMaterial handling (drayage) and electrical, billed by the show at actual cost. Booths with a hanging sign also need the show's rigging labor. We order all of it for you.
All-in
Exhibiting in Chicago? Get your price in 24 hours.
Send your show, booth number and size. We return a rendering with your graphics and one fixed price for everything.
Get my quoteor call 800-994-8030