Huge arenas, handsome rooms for seminars and unusual spots for social functions—all these and more are part of an interesting inventory of venues for meetings and conventions in the greater Birmingham area.
The Largest:
Alabama’s premiere convention facility is the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex campus, situated at the northern end of the city center. The campus, which includes two hotels, has a total of 350,000 square feet of exhibition space and 90 meeting rooms, along with an 18,000-seat arena and 4,000 seats in two theaters.
Also in the City Center:
Another popular meeting facility in the heart of downtown is the Harbert Center, built of Italian granite with mahogany and chrome accents. The center accommodates meeting and social functions in dining areas, with seating capacities from 10 to 400 people. Audiovisual needs can be arranged through the onsite manager.
In the Western Section:
The Bessemer Civic Center has 600 guest rooms nearby. The Main Hall, with more than 13,000 square feet, is a popular venue for tradeshows and smaller exhibitions. The hall and three meeting spaces have reasonable room rental fees.
Out of the Ordinary:
With the growing trend to meet and socialize in unusual settings, meeting planning in Birmingham includes a broad selection of cool venues.
Workplay is an entertainment complex on Birmingham’s Southside. As the name implies, the venue combines small businesses for work with larger areas designated for play. The Workplay theater is one of the city’s best performance venues, with cabaret-style seating for up to 500 guests. With a comfortable adjoining bar, the theater hosts musical performances, along with corporate parties and convention social functions.
Nearby, Iron City is another good choice for social functions requiring more space. The renovated venue, built in 1929, has multi-level staging and in-house catering and can accommodate most audiovisual requests in-house. Maximum capacity for the facility is 1,300 guests. Haven is another historic, refurbished venue on the city’s Southside. Built in 1924, this attractive event space is suitable for hosting events from 50 to 1,000 people.
With loads of warehouse chic, the B&A Warehouse has historical charm with gourmet catering. With three bars and a staging area, the facility’s four distinct rooms can accommodate about 1,500 guests.
Functions at Area Attractions:
Larger groups enjoy the unusual social setting of Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark. The structure preserves a slice of Birmingham’s industrial heritage and has been converted for hosting social functions. With a seating capacity for 900 people, the cast shed is a natural amphitheater and is often in use for dinners and theme parties. McWane Science Center, where adventures in science delight and entertain, is regularly booked for social events for convention groups to eat, drink, meet, tour and play. Multiple private spaces, including a 4,000 square foot banquet room, make McWane an interesting host for groups of 10 to 500, day or night.
For a full inventory of meeting and event spaces in Birmingham, see our Meeting Planners Guides at inbirmingham.com or call the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau at 800-458-8085.
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