Moscone Center, CA Meeting Planning Overview
When it comes to meeting destination cities, San Francisco's eclectic mix of picturesque scenery, historic and contemporary architecture, thriving artistic and cultural scenes, fabulous shopping and almost obsessive love affair with extraordinary food and wine make it one of the country's most exciting. In the center of it all, in the "South of Market District" known as SoMa, just a few blocks from the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge lies the Moscone Center, San Francisco's premier convention venue.
Built as part of the Yerba Buena Center Redevelopment Project and opened in 1981, the Center was named as a tribute to legendary Mayor George R. Moscone. As the largest meeting venue in San Francisco, the 20-acre Moscone Center complex consists of three buildings – Moscone Center, Moscone North (opened 1992) and Moscone West (opened 2003) – on three adjacent blocks, conveniently located in the city's downtown.
On site, planners will find more than 700,000 square feet of exhibit space, 6 primary exhibition halls, up to 106 meeting rooms and 123,000 square feet of pre-function lobbies, plus world-class in-house catering, audio-visual and security services – so it's safe to say that the Moscone complex can easily accommodate just about any convention or meeting challenge. Hosting hundreds of events annually, the venue registered or ticketed 635,343 attendees or exhibitors for a 2010 event in Moscone North and South and another 284,468 in Moscone West. So how did all those guests get there? Via the city's convenient local and regional mass transportation system, or on foot just a pleasant stroll from any one of the Moscone's 20,000-plus nearby hotel rooms.
One more reason to consider the Moscone Center venue: its award-winning sustainability programs that support operational and business practices designed to lessen adverse environmental impact. Innovative programs include traditional recycling plus an ambitious food-composting program that captures all organic material from food service operations, as well as compostable serve-ware and utensils from all concession and catering locations throughout the Moscone complex. The complex's earth-friendly efforts also include efficient building design features, air quality monitoring and testing, energy-efficient lighting systems and a solar panel partnership with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
