Chicago convention centers and trade show venues

Our guides cover seven Chicago-area venues. McCormick Place is the lakefront campus south of the Loop. Downtown, the Hilton Chicago, the Hyatt Regency Chicago and the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk are convention hotels with real exhibit space, and Festival Hall sits on Navy Pier. Near O'Hare, the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center is in Rosemont and the Schaumburg Convention Center is farther northwest. The suburban two trade downtown traffic for easy parking and lower drayage planning rates.

From our McCormick Place, Hilton Chicago, Hyatt Regency Chicago, Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk, Navy Pier Festival Hall, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and Schaumburg Convention Center guides

McCormick Place, by a wide margin. It has about 2.6 million sq ft of exhibit space in six halls across four connected buildings, and Hall A in the South Building alone is 840,000 sq ft. South and North together offer more than 1.2 million sq ft on one level. The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont is next in our guides at 840,000 sq ft.

From our McCormick Place and Donald E. Stephens Convention Center guides

Yes. Illinois has no right-to-work law. At McCormick Place, freight from the dock to the booth is Teamster work billed as drayage, and power distribution stays with electricians. At the Hilton, the Hyatt Regency, Navy Pier, Rosemont and Schaumburg, our guides say exhibit labor runs through the show's contractor, and a 2024 kit at the Sheraton Grand said all exhibit work in the Chicago area must be done by union personnel. What changed in 2010 is what your own staff may do at McCormick Place, not who moves the freight.

From our McCormick Place, Hilton Chicago, Hyatt Regency Chicago, Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk, Navy Pier Festival Hall, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and Schaumburg Convention Center guides

At McCormick Place, yes, at any booth size, if the work is done by full-time employees who have been with you at least six months. They may use their own ladders, hand tools and power tools, and McCormick Place can ask for a W-2 or payroll record within 24 hours. The rights cannot pass to a contractor or hired temps. At the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk, 2024 kits let your staff set only pop-ups in booths of 10 × 10 or less. At the other five venues, our guides say self-install allowances follow the show kit.

From our McCormick Place, Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk, Hilton Chicago, Hyatt Regency Chicago, Navy Pier Festival Hall, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and Schaumburg Convention Center guides

Our planning rates run from about $225 per hundredweight at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk and $210 at McCormick Place, both with a 200 lb minimum, down to about $175 at the Hilton, $170 at the Hyatt Regency, $150 at Navy Pier, $140 in Rosemont and $120 in Schaumburg. These are Purple planning rates, not published tariffs. Late, off-target, uncrated or special-handling freight adds surcharges, 25 to 35 percent at McCormick Place in our guide. Your show kit has the actual rate.

From our Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk, McCormick Place, Hilton Chicago, Hyatt Regency Chicago, Navy Pier Festival Hall, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and Schaumburg Convention Center guides

Our McCormick countdown has the advance warehouse opening about 30 days before the show and closing about seven days out; late freight pays a surcharge, and off-target direct freight is surcharged too. Direct shipments arrive at your building's dock for targeted move-in, so the building, hall and booth number must be on every label. Our guide recommends one consolidated, crated shipment, on time. The show kit sets the real dates.

From our McCormick Place guide

At McCormick Place, RSNA runs at the end of November into December 2026, the Chicago Auto Show is in February 2027, the Inspired Home Show in March, HIMSS27 and ProMat in April, and the National Restaurant Association Show in late May. Our guide says several of the largest shows run November through March. IMTS and PACK EXPO International already ran in fall 2026 and return in even-numbered years.

From our McCormick Place guide

Two: the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, linked by an enclosed walkway to the West Building, and the Marriott Marquis Chicago, the other on-campus tower, opened in 2017. They have nearly 3,000 rooms between them, so book early for citywide shows. Downtown, the Hilton Chicago is about a 10-minute drive and the Hyatt Regency Chicago about 15. Many teams stay downtown and ride the Busway or Metra.

From our McCormick Place, Hilton Chicago and Hyatt Regency Chicago guides

For McCormick Place and the downtown hotels, Midway is closer: about 20 minutes to McCormick Place and about 15 to the Hilton, and our McCormick guide notes it is often cheaper. O'Hare is 30 to 45 minutes from downtown depending on traffic, with more international routes. For Rosemont, O'Hare is about 10 minutes away, and for Schaumburg about 20.

From our McCormick Place, Hilton Chicago, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and Schaumburg Convention Center guides

The Hyatt Regency Chicago has a 70,000 sq ft expo hall built for trade shows, with heavier builds and forklifts by arrangement. The Hilton Chicago's 119,000 sq ft Stevens Meeting Center takes exhibit halls of 80 to 180 booths in our guide, but its 1927 service elevators limit crate size. The Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk's 35,000 sq ft hall sits at river level under a 10 ft 6 in ceiling, so check your booth height. Out of town, the Schaumburg Convention Center offers 148,624 sq ft with a connected hotel and free parking.

From our Hyatt Regency Chicago, Hilton Chicago, Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk and Schaumburg Convention Center guides

At Navy Pier, Grand Avenue is the only road onto the pier and summer weekend crowds slow trucks, so plan around them. At McCormick Place, register in advance if you will unload a car under the ASUV program, and bring your own non-motorized dolly. Rosemont has a skybridge-connected garage and Schaumburg has free surface parking, both unlike downtown, where our guides say parking is scarce and expensive.

From our Navy Pier Festival Hall, McCormick Place, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and Schaumburg Convention Center guides

No. Exhibitors and their employees may not use scooters, forklifts, genie lifts, pallet jacks, condors, scaffolding, scissor lifts, motorized dollies or any other motorized or hydraulic equipment there. Plan heavy pieces with the contractor and bring non-motorized, non-hydraulic hand trucks for your own material. At the Hyatt Regency Chicago, our guide says the expo hall takes forklifts by arrangement; confirm with the hotel first.

From our McCormick Place and Hyatt Regency Chicago guides