Show labor comes from four signatory unions under the Customer Satisfaction Agreement, which runs through May 2029.
Exhibitor guide · Philadelphia, PA · Updated
Pennsylvania Convention Center Exhibitor Guide
Philadelphia is a union town, yet at the PCC your own full-time employees may build a booth of any size, as long as no EAC is contracted to set it up. Check each task against the center's January 2026 work rules below, then plan Halls A–E, the ramped 200-level docks, drayage and the connected hotels.
- 3,000+ exhibitors served
- 10,000+ booths built
- 2 days to a design brief
Photo: “Pennsylvania Convention Center” by ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0. Source
Quick answers
What exhibitors ask about the Pennsylvania Convention Center
If they are full-time employees of your company and no exhibitor-appointed contractor (EAC) is contracted to set up and dismantle that booth.
A personally owned, non-commercially registered sedan, SUV, pickup or van. Rentals, trailers, bobtails and stake beds do not qualify.
29 ft low clearance in Halls D and E. Halls F and G on the street level are much lower; check the current hall plan.
Labor & union rules
Pennsylvania Convention Center union rules: what the CSA lets you do
From the PCC's January 2026 exhibitor rules and its exhibitor webinars. The rights belong to full-time employees of the exhibiting company, wearing exhibitor badges, and apply only when no exhibitor-appointed contractor (EAC) is contracted to set up and dismantle that booth. The Customer Satisfaction Agreement runs through May 2029.
✓Your full-time staff (no EAC)
- Set up and tear down your own display, with no limit on booth size (the 600 sq ft cap was removed in the 2019 extension)
- Hang graphics and signage
- Install floor coverings
- Install non-rented AV
- Install your own non-rented lighting, when no EAC or contractor labor is used
- Use your own power tools, battery tools included, and ladders up to 6 ft
- Unload a personally owned, non-commercially registered sedan, SUV, pickup or van at the designated area, in about 20 minutes, with your own dollies and two-to-four-wheel hand trucks
●Union labor and the PCC
- Show labor: four signatory unions (laborers, stagehands, electricians, riggers). The Carpenters and Teamsters did not sign the 2014 agreement and are barred from the building
- EAC employees are not exhibitors: no exhibitor badges, no exhibitor rights, no show labor
- If you hire PCC show labor instead of an EAC, your full-time staff (employed six months or more, badged) can work alongside them
- When EAC or contractor labor is used, electricians install all lighting
- Primary power comes from the PCC; hard wiring needs an electrical labor order
- Trade labor overtime starts after eight hours on weekdays, regardless of start time
!Never allowed
- Powder-actuated tools and gas nailers, ever
- Lasers
- Unloading rentals, trailers, bobtails or stake beds as a personal vehicle
- Motorized or hydraulic equipment when unloading
- Cords under carpet; use grounded 3-wire 12-gauge cords only
- Rigging in the Grand Hall without drawings approved by the PCC in advance
Background photo: "Pennsylvania Convention Center construction" by chrisinphilly5448, CC BY-SA 2.0 Source
Floor plan & exhibit halls
Pennsylvania Convention Center floor plan: Halls A–G
Halls A through E sit on the 200 level, one floor above the street, and combine into 528,000 contiguous sq ft, the largest in the Northeast. Tap a hall for its size and clearance.
Schematic. Hall widths are proportional to floor area, not an architectural plan. Official hall plans and capacity charts are on paconvention.com.
Exhibit Hall A
- 135,000 sq ft
- 30 ft low clearance
- 350 lbs per sq ft floor load
The largest single hall. Reached from the main entrance at 12th and Arch; show offices overlook Halls A–C.
Exhibit Hall B
- 90,000 sq ft
- 30 ft low clearance
- 350 lbs per sq ft floor load
Reached from the 12th and Arch entrance. Halls A–C host medical and scientific conventions, the Auto Show and the Flower Show.
Exhibit Hall C
- 90,000 sq ft
- 30 ft low clearance
- 350 lbs per sq ft floor load
Reached from the 12th and Arch entrance, with show offices overlooking the floor.
Exhibit Hall D
- 109,000 sq ft
- 29 ft low clearance
- 350 lbs per sq ft floor load
On the Broad Street side, with windows over Broad Street. Reached from the Broad Street entrance; confirm which entrance your attendees will use.
Exhibit Hall E
- 104,000 sq ft
- 29 ft low clearance
- 350 lbs per sq ft floor load
Broad Street side. Combined with A–D for the full 528,000 contiguous sq ft.
125,120sq ft Hall F, street (100) level · much lower ceiling; check clear height and column spacing before tall structures or hanging signs
26,496sq ft Hall G, 100 level off Broad Street · smaller exhibitions, registration · confirm clear height on the current plan
34,960sq ft Grand Hall under the 1893 train shed roof · rigging needs PCC-approved drawings in advance
55,408sq ft Terrace Ballroom (36 ft low), 400 level · plus the 31,512 sq ft Ballroom AB · tabletop and sponsor displays
82meeting rooms on the 100, 200 and 300 levels, plus the 23,400 sq ft Broad Street Atrium
Only at the Pennsylvania Convention Center
Pennsylvania Convention Center CSA rule checker: can my own staff do this?
The PCC publishes its exhibitor work rules as a one-page pledge. Each row below follows the January 2026 edition. The setup, tools, unloading, signage, flooring and AV freedoms belong to full-time employees of the exhibiting company, and only while no EAC is contracted for the booth setup and dismantle.
| Task | Your full-time staff? |
|---|---|
| Set up and tear down the booth | Yes, without limitation to booth size |
| Hang graphics and signage, install floor coverings | Yes |
| Install and remove non-rented, non-public AV equipment, including tablets for non-public use | Yes |
| Use power tools and ladders to set up and tear down | Yes, ladders up to 6 ft |
| Unload a non-commercially registered, personally owned sedan, SUV, pickup or van | Yes, at a designated area, with your own dollies, luggage carriers, non-hydraulic carts and two-to-four-wheel hand trucks |
| Unload a trailer (including a tag-along), rental, bobtail or stakebed | No, these vehicles do not qualify |
| Open boxes, stock shelves, set up, plug in, hang up and distribute non-bulk products and literature in the booth | Yes, without limitation to booth size |
| Maintain your own display equipment after the initial setup | Yes, without limitation to booth size |
| Set up and connect your own non-rented computers, tablets and low-voltage power supplies for non-public use | Yes |
| Set up rented equipment, registration and public-use computers and tablets, including those used to collect data | No, PCC show labor sets these up |
| Place, move and remove your own easels, signs and poster board materials | Yes |
| Do the setup, tools, unloading, signage, flooring or AV work when an EAC is contracted for the booth setup and dismantle | No, those freedoms apply only when no EAC is contracted |
Source: Pennsylvania Convention Center, “Our Pledge to Customer Service” and “Enhanced Exhibitor Work Rules,” January 2026. Questions on a specific task go to PCC Contractor Services, 215-418-4900.
Loading dock & move-in
Pennsylvania Convention Center loading dock and freight
Get directions to Pennsylvania Convention Center →
- Docks above the streetTractor-trailers drive up ramps to the 200-level docks, above street traffic. The PCC chart lists 43 docks on that level; some sources count 45 in total, so confirm with the venue.
- MarshalingHandled per the general contractor for your show.
- Personal vehiclesUnload at a designated area in about 20 minutes, with your own dollies and hand trucks. See the vehicle rules below.
- Two entrancesHalls A, B, C and F from the main entrance at 12th and Arch; Halls D, E and G from the Broad Street entrance.
- Day −60Design approved. Rigging drawings to the PCC if anything hangs.
- Day −35EAC form and certificate of insurance filed. Electrical and internet orders in for the advance rate, with a floor plan marking drops.
- Day −21Purple ships to Philadelphia through our carrier network.
- Day −7Advance warehouse deadline.
- Day 0Targeted move-in up the ramps to the 200-level docks. Personal vehicles unload at the designated area.
- Show +1Move-out. Empties return, MHA turned in.
Free tool
Pennsylvania Convention Center drayage cost estimator
Planning numbers for 2026 at about $170 per hundredweight, a Northeast big-city rate. The general contractor's show kit carries the actual tariff. See all venues on the drayage rates page.
Estimated drayage
$2,550
Cut this with a lighter booth
Photos: "Shopping Philadelphia Flower Show Exhibit" by Huron Tours & Travel, CC BY 2.0 Source · "2011 Philadelphia Auto Show" by Kevin Burkett, CC BY-SA 2.0 Source · "Reading Terminal Market Philadelphia PA." by rverc, CC BY 2.0 Source
On the floor at the Philadelphia Auto Show
Photo: "2011 Philadelphia Auto Show" by Kevin Burkett, CC BY-SA 2.0 Source
The calendar
Pennsylvania Convention Center trade shows 2026–2027
Two of the city's biggest public shows bracket the winter, and national medical, scientific and association conventions rotate through the rest of the year. Attendance figures are planning ranges; confirm each event with its organizer.
LeadingAge Annual Meeting + EXPO
Aging services, senior living · association annual meeting with expo · 2026
Philadelphia Museum of Art Contemporary Craft Show
Fine craft, consumer show and sale · 2026
Society for Neuro-Oncology Annual Meeting
Medical, oncology · 31st annual meeting and education day · 2026
NCTE Annual Convention
Education, English teachers · annual convention with exhibits · 2026
PAX Unplugged
Tabletop gaming, consumer · 2026
Philadelphia Auto Show
Automotive, consumer · ~150,000–250,000 · 2027
Dates are from the Pennsylvania Convention Center calendar and the Auto Show organizer. The PHS Philadelphia Flower Show returns in March 2027, but PHS had not published its 2027 dates when we checked (ticket listings show March 12–21), and FAN EXPO Philadelphia (May 29–June 1 in 2026) had not posted 2027 dates. The Flower Show, run by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society since 1829, has been held here since 1996.
Insider tips
Pennsylvania Convention Center exhibitor tips: what experienced teams do
Decide EAC or self-build first
The PCC's self-setup freedoms apply only while no EAC is contracted for your booth's setup and dismantle. Make that call before you file the EAC form, because it decides who touches the booth.
Send full-time employees, badged
The rights belong to full-time employees of the exhibiting company wearing exhibitor badges. EAC employees cannot wear exhibitor badges, and if you hire PCC show labor instead, your full-time staff employed six months or more can work alongside them.
Drive your own car, not a rental
Only a personally owned, non-commercially registered sedan, SUV, pickup or van qualifies for self-unloading. A rental, a bobtail, a stakebed or a trailer, tag-alongs included, does not, so bring non-hydraulic carts and plan on about 20 minutes.
Pack a 6 ft ladder, leave the laser
Your own power tools and ladders up to 6 ft are allowed. Powder-actuated tools, gas nailers and lasers are not, so check your install method against those limits before the crates ship.
Public tablets are show labor's job
Your staff may connect your own non-rented computers and tablets for non-public use. Rented equipment and registration or public-use computers and tablets, including those that collect data, are set up by PCC show labor, so order that labor in advance.
Send attendees to the right entrance
Halls A, B, C and F open off the main entrance at 12th and Arch; Halls D, E and G off Broad Street. Put the correct entrance on your invitations, and note that trade labor overtime starts after eight hours on weekdays, whatever the start time.
Where to stay & getting there
Hotels near the Pennsylvania Convention Center
Connected
Philadelphia Marriott Downtown
1,408 rooms with an indoor connection to the center. The usual headquarters hotel.
Connected
Aloft Philadelphia Downtown
179 rooms, also connected. Good for booth staff.
Walking distance
Center City hotels
More than 14,000 hotel rooms within walking distance of the center.
Under the center
SEPTA from PHL
The Airport Line runs to Jefferson Station, directly beneath the center, in about 20 to 25 minutes.
Downstairs
Reading Terminal Market
The default exhibitor lunch, at 12th and Filbert. Some Pennsylvania Dutch merchants close on Sundays.
The building
From the Reading Terminal to Broad Street
Philadelphia built its convention center around a railroad terminal rather than tearing it down, and the market under the tracks never closed.
- 1893The Reading Terminal opens January 29: a Market Street headhouse by Francis H. Kimball and a Wilson Brothers train shed, one of the largest single-span arched roofs in the world. Displaced farmers' markets move underneath as the Reading Terminal Market.
- 1976The terminal, on the National Register since 1972, becomes a National Historic Landmark.
- 1984The last train leaves November 6, as regional rail moves underground to what is now Jefferson Station.
- 1990The Reading Company transfers the terminal complex to the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority.
- 1993The convention center opens on Arch Street. Through the 1990s the headhouse becomes its Market Street entrance and the train shed its Grand Hall.
- 1996The Philadelphia Flower Show, first held in 1829, moves in.
- 2011The $786 million expansion opens in March, reaching Broad Street and bringing contiguous exhibit space to 528,000 sq ft.
- 2014A new Customer Satisfaction Agreement is signed with four unions. The Carpenters and Teamsters do not sign and are barred from the building.
- 2019A five-year extension removes the 600 sq ft cap on exhibitor self-setup and runs the agreement through May 2029. Legends Global now manages the center.
FAQ
Pennsylvania Convention Center FAQ for exhibitors
Is the Pennsylvania Convention Center union?
Yes. Show labor comes from four signatory unions (laborers, stagehands, electricians and riggers) under the Customer Satisfaction Agreement, which runs through May 2029. The same agreement gives exhibitors unusually broad rights to work in their own booths.
Can I set up my own booth at the Pennsylvania Convention Center?
Yes, at any booth size, if the work is done by full-time employees of your company, wearing exhibitor badges, and no exhibitor-appointed contractor is contracted to set up and dismantle the booth. Your staff may build the display, hang graphics and signs, lay flooring and install your own non-rented AV.
What changes if I hire an EAC?
EAC employees are not exhibitors: they cannot wear exhibitor badges, use the exhibitor rights, or perform show labor, and electricians install all lighting in that booth. The EAC supervises and PCC show labor does the hands-on work.
Can I unload my own vehicle?
Yes, if it is a personally owned, non-commercially registered sedan, SUV, pickup or van. Rentals, trailers, bobtails and stake-bed trucks do not qualify. Use your own dollies or hand trucks (nothing motorized or hydraulic) and plan on about 20 minutes at the designated area.
Can I use power tools and a ladder?
Yes: your own power tools, including battery tools, and ladders up to 6 ft. Powder-actuated tools, gas-filled nailers and lasers are not allowed.
Where is the Pennsylvania Convention Center loading dock?
Tractor-trailers drive up ramps to the docks on the 200 level, above street traffic, with marshaling handled by the general contractor. The PCC lists 43 docks on that level; confirm the current count with the venue.
How much is drayage at the Pennsylvania Convention Center?
Plan about $170 per hundredweight. The general service contractor's show kit carries the actual tariff for your show.
What is the ceiling height in the exhibit halls?
Halls A, B and C have 30 ft low clearance and Halls D and E have 29 ft. Halls F and G on the street level have a much lower ceiling, so check the clear height on the current hall plan before planning tall structures or hanging signs.
Is the Reading Terminal Market part of the convention center?
It sits beneath the old Reading train shed, which is now the convention center's Grand Hall, and is a short walk from the halls. It has operated there since 1893 and is open daily, though not every merchant opens on Sunday.
How do I get from the airport?
SEPTA's Airport Line runs from PHL to Jefferson Station, directly beneath the convention center, in about 20 to 25 minutes. A cab covers the 8 to 9 miles in similar time outside rush hour.
Exhibiting in Philadelphia?
Start with the booth number. We handle the rest.
Tell us your show, your hall and whether your team plans to self-build under the CSA or bring in an EAC. Within two business days you get a design brief, a drayage estimate at Philadelphia rates and a build plan that fits the PCC's work rules.
Background photo: "Philadelphia Night Skyline" by Chris Hunkeler, CC BY-SA 2.0 Source
Compare venues
Pennsylvania Convention Center vs other Pennsylvania venues
How the Pennsylvania Convention Center stacks up against the other Pennsylvania halls we have guides for. Drayage figures are Purple planning rates, not published tariffs.
| Venue | Type | Largest space | Ceiling | Labor | Drayage (plan) | Airport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania Convention CenterThis guide | Convention center | 528,000 sq ft contiguous, Halls A–E | 30 ft (A–C) · 29 ft (D–E) | Union · CSA | ≈ $170/cwt | PHL · 8–9 mi |
| Bayfront Convention CenterErie | Convention center | 28,800 sq ft Great Hall · 160 booths | 23 ft (Great Hall) | No venue union rule · check kit | ≈ $50/cwt | ERI · about 6.5 mi |
| David L. Lawrence Convention CenterPittsburgh | Convention center | 236,900 sq ft column-free Halls ABC | 30–45 ft (Halls ABC) | Union · self-setup ≤ 400 sq ft | ≈ $160/cwt | PIT · 18 mi |
| Greater Philadelphia Expo CenterOaks | Expo center | 240,000 sq ft, Halls A–E on one floor | 22–35 ft | Check show kit | ≈ $120/cwt | PHL · ~45–60 min drive |
| Hershey Lodge & Convention CenterHershey | Resort ballrooms | 32,004 sq ft Great American Hall | 22 ft (Great American Hall) | In-house decorator · check kit | ≈ $50/cwt | MDT · ~20 min |
| Kalahari Resorts & Conventions Pocono MountainsPocono Manor | Resort ballrooms | 38,000 sq ft Kilimanjaro Ballroom | 16–25 ft | Not right-to-work · check kit | ≈ $120/cwt | AVP · ≈40 mi |
| Lancaster County Convention CenterLancaster | Convention center | 46,508 sq ft Freedom Hall | — | Check show kit | ≈ $120/cwt | MDT · 27 mi |
| Monroeville Convention CenterMonroeville | Convention center | ~44,000 sq ft North Hall | 32 ft (North Hall) | Unconfirmed · check show kit | ≈ $85/cwt | PIT · under 45 min |
| Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo CenterHarrisburg | Fairgrounds | 172,000 sq ft GIANT Expo Hall | 30 ft Expo · 13′6″ Main | Check show kit | ≈ $115/cwt | MDT · 9 mi |
| Philadelphia Marriott DowntownPhiladelphia | Hotel ballrooms | 34,300 sq ft Grand Ballroom · 31,962 sq ft Franklin Hall | 10.5 ft Franklin Hall · 22 ft ballroom | Union · check kit | ≈ $170/cwt | PHL · SEPTA to Jefferson Station |
| York Expo CenterYork | Fairgrounds | 114,000 sq ft UPMC Arena (74,000 clear span) | 24–30 ft arena · 12–22 ft other halls | Show contractor · check kit | ≈ $90/cwt | MDT · roughly 30 mi |
More Pennsylvania guides
Other venues in Pennsylvania
Greater Philadelphia Expo CenterOaks
David L. Lawrence Convention CenterPittsburgh
Pennsylvania Farm Show ComplexHarrisburg
Lancaster County Convention CenterLancaster
Monroeville Convention CenterMonroeville
Written by the Purple Exhibits team. Reviewed for the 2026–2027 season. Figures marked for verification are being confirmed with the venue. Sources: Pennsylvania Convention Center exhibitor rules (January 2026), PCC exhibitor webinars and capacity charts, TSNN and Exhibit City News on the Customer Satisfaction Agreement, Wikipedia (Pennsylvania Convention Center, Reading Terminal, Reading Terminal Market), Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia Inquirer, SEPTA, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.