Baltimore Convention Center

It’s your typical convention center, although very large. It’s conveniently located near the harbor, shops, and restaurants.

I swear I want to give it 5 stars but I can’t because in a few of the lecture rooms that I was in I was sweating that to the point where it was so hot I had to get up and just leave otherwise I would get a pounding headache. Came for the first time for a 3 day stay for ICNA during Memorial Day weekend and there were so so many people; but it actually kind of went smoothly and you figured out the place after a couple of hours. Outside the center, there are numerous numerous hotels located across the huge street, The Cheesecake Factory, and a mall but they don’t call them that, they call it a shopping center cuz when I ask them where the mall was they said they didn’t know what I was talking about. LoL there is a huge space open I guess it is the pier where you could grab a boat and go to a restaurant on the other side or just go relax and soak up the Sun and look at the water it is beautiful. Oh yes I going back to the convention center it is huge huge huge huge the main floor of the first floor or whatever it is held the bazaar with hundreds of different business is coming to sell their stuff. On the same floor they were able to accommodate a prayer space for all of us I mean that’s how big it was and there were thousands of people coming to this event. Please Baltimore Convention Center make sure that AC is working during the summer I’m coming back every May for ICNA

Otakon! This was my very first con for when I competed in Halo and Halo 2! Otakon has much grown since then, and I’m very happy it’s still going stronger than ever. Whether you’re looking to game, cosplay, see panels, check out vendors, or just relax, you’ll have a great time here. Recommended ages: up to 90’s kids

It is a convention center, not very well laid out, but it is what it is. Expect a lot of walking, and if you are handicapped, it can be a long way.
Close in Parking is EXPENSIVE, so plan on that, even if you get a free ticket to get into an event there.
Easy access to I-​95.

I’m not sure why some of the reviews haven’t been incredibly good here: I thought this was hands down the best convention center I have been to. My number one reason? It was easily navigable. The positioning of the rooms is incredibly intuitive, and this is critical when you’re running around like a chicken with your head cut off to make another lecture in a room you haven’t been to yet. The convention center was able to easily house our 4500 members for the Ecological Society of America meeting; I particularly enjoyed the numerous stand-​up desks around so you can plug in your laptop and check email, etc. The location of the convention center was nice– I actually stayed in another part of the city and had to bus in every day– with nice views of the harbor and easily accessible to (albeit touristy) bars and restaurants. I would be happy to attend another conference here in the future.

The Baltimore convention center sucks. No air conditioning during a two day set up for fine art and antique show.
It’s out of the way and run poorly. The food was uneatable. A 10lb bag of ice cost me $ 23.00.
The security was rude and as a whole the city is extremely run down. The homeless folks were basically having block parties in the streets around the convention center nightly. The Baltimore police were invisible. I see no reason to ever visit this city again. The parking is extremly frustrating
Baltimore needs to go back to basics. Clean up your city.

We came for the tattoo convention on Sunday April 12^th on a whim, not really expecting to get any work done but to just window shop the tattoo booths and enjoy the shows. Tyler Fyre and family was one of the main reasons we decided to go; he and his lovely wife Jane are sword swallowers… but it didn’t stop there, nails (huge), screw drivers, other instruments going into the nose and basically hitting the brain stem… and a big ol python act. and 3 year old Hank escaping a straight-​jacket, if you’re not grossed out and entertained by now… anywho, the freak show– which he used himself– was really entertaining, scary, gross, and incredible all wrapped up into an hour; I would love to see the family perform again someday.
There were hundreds of people on Sunday, I can only imagine how many more people came out Friday and Saturday. We had some beers, looked at the artists, and then I came across this lady tattooer that had a sketch of the exact rose I wanted, so I got it within 15 minutes of meeting her. Andrea Lynne is based out of Ohio, her Instagram name is @titsofacheetah, you can see my little beauty on her page. Really glad we walked down that isle and met Andie, I plan to visit her shop in the future. Excellent job, Baltimore Convention Center– you hosted a really nice, clean, exciting event!

Stopped in to the convention center while in town for business. I have to say, I’m impressed by its size. It also is pretty awesome that it is connected to other local buildings such as the Hilton.
The multiple levels are probably a good selling point, but do leave you wandering around trying to find what you are looking for. And outside the size, there isn’t much to talk about. The place was kept clean, but the staff didn’t bother to clear the snow and ice off the sidewalk until late in the afternoon.
Having been to convention centers in Philly and NYC, I feel Baltimore’s can certainly hang with that crowd. However, it does nothing to define itself or in any matter stand out. Therefore, like those others, it really comes down to what is taking place IN the center…

I’ve made countless memories here since my first convention Otakon 2006 great place but it could stand some major improvements, mostly the accessibility to food and outlets, but the food part isn’t really the fault on the convention center

A large space, but you would not know it from the outside. I have gone to a couple conventions here, some large making the place seem smaller. But, no matter what architecturally, beautiful.
Only comment I would make, it can be a bit difficult to find the right room.

THIS IS MY HOME! I have come here for Otakon and Baltimore Comiccon and the place is big (wish it was bigger) and amazing! The fact it connects to the inner harbor makes it a great location for conventions. I love this place and it will be forever a memory.
ONLY PROBLEM? It isn’t as beautiful as other conventions I have gone to and there should definitely be more staff members who care about check badges. I paid 80 bucks to be here and if someone who didn’t is here I am going to get pretty upset.
Another great thing is their house chips. Potato chips so good and crunchy. I always get them when I’m here cause I can’t find it anywhere else.

I think the only thing bigger than Kanye’s ego is this building.
My legs hurt.
PRO TIP 1: Bar across the street.
PRO TIP 2: Secret bathrooms on the 300 Level that nobody knows about except for you and me.

Every trip here has been to Otakon. I will rate Otakon on its own merits in a different review, but as for the convention center itself, all I can say is sucking balls, and toasting anus is an understatement to the physical layout of the building and that I can only pray the rumors of its demolition for a newer, larger, more accessible building comes true in 2016 as believed.
My opinion of the area notwithstanding, building accessibility is poor, and clearly reflects pre-​ADA design. for me, who often uses a cane to move around, the stairs are a terrible nightmare only hampered by the limited availability of elevators.
I will touch more in this review of the area around the convention as I don’t think there is much else I can say that has not been hammed to death like a roach under a mallet by the other reviews.
As to what is in the area; to the north is downtown, south the interstate, to the west is the stadium, east is the inner harbor. I will note that if you choose to go west, do not go northwest more than two blocks, in to the heavily ghetto-​ized Lexington Market. I’ve been mugged here twice going from the convention center to the University of Maryland campus along Baltimore Street.
Heading south, you really won’t go far before hitting more ghetto and a lot of debilitated industrial buildings. You may not be eaten by a grue, but rather shot by a gang-​banger.
Going west is also ill-​advised though you should be ok at the two stadiums, I would not venture beyond that. As police activity due to drug and gang violence is relatively high.
You won’t find much at all to the north or northeast unless you like somewhat smallish skyscrapers, and corporate offices and municipal buildings.
East, now that’s where all the fun tourist stuff are at. Inner Harbor, the Power Plant, Harbor Place, Maryland Science Center, old historic museum ships, and tons of places to eat and shop. Get there easier, and use the sky walks to avoid those surface dwellers and all their traffic lights and cars.
So come to the convention center for your whims, stay in the hotels, and avoid heading north, south and west. Oh, and stay safe, after dark, you’ll need that!

The Baltimore Convention Center is an interesting place to write about as my main experience with this facility is during the yearly Otakon animé convention. The BCC isn’t a terrible facility, but is dated with several choke points and can no longer handle a convention of 35,000 attendees.
Bring your walking shoes because the BCC is huge. It’s actually too big and spread out when a convention is using the attached Hilton and/​or the Hyatt. Depending on the crowd, it can take 10 – 15 minutes to walk from one end of the BCC to the Hilton conference area. Two major choke points impacting travel around the convention center include the bridge that connects the two wings and the bridge that connects the BCC to the Hilton. Whoever designed the BCC-​Hilton Bridge had no clue about crowd flow as the narrow stairs and elevator create a serious choke point.
The Air Conditioning seems to vary per year; the older wing of the convention center with the flag lobby seems to suffer from this the most. The escalators do break, but this is very common with convention centers. Interactions with employees vary but I found that some of the food service workers are not in a major hurry. For convention center food it’s decent, but not cheap.
Baltimore Convention Center is in a tough position. Information on a possible reconstruction has all but disappeared. The neighborhood just a few blocks outside of the convention center goes downhill. With Otakon leaving in 2016 and Baltimore unable to retain the Grand Prix of Baltimore, I can’t see myself traveling to the area.

This convention center is huge. I’ve been to a concert here that only occupied one room, and I’ve been to Otakon that occupies the entire venue. It’s so big that I’m constantly lost wandering it. Other than that, it does serve it’s purpose well. It’s conveniently located near the light rail for commuters, and near the inner harbor for all of the food options.
I wish the basement esque rooms had better reception. I work as a dealer for Otakon and when trying to make credit card transactions, I frequently have to walk away from my booth and head towards the opposite wall near the bathrooms to get the signal to work.

Had a great time at BronyCon with the kids. Clean venue, but I did not use restroom. Food is overpriced. Walk to subway or the Harbor instead. Quite a huge place.

Once you start going to conferences, all convention centers pretty much look the same. I attended a five day conference at the BCC, and was fairly impressed by the facility as a whole. The center is located right in the middle of a number of hotels, and is within easy walking distance of various eateries and shopping (the Inner Harbor area). I wouldn’t recommend venturing too far away from the center though, once you go 2 – 3 blocks north, the streets become uncomfortably quiet and «rougher» feeling. I didn’t find the center itself difficult to navigate, but the society hosting the conference I attended provided excellent maps and signs throughout the building.
The sound and display systems worked well in all the rooms I was in, and there were plenty of clean bathrooms throughout. There is a lovely rooftop garden and shaded outdoor seating area with fountains that you can take a coffee or lunch out to. I loved having an outdoor space that wasn’t right on a busy street, and other attendees also commented on how much they enjoyed the outdoor space. I also really appreciated that the A/​C wasn’t super high — coming in from record breaking heat to a freezing conference room is terrible, the rooms were just right. The only negative about this center is the chairs. They were hard and incredibly uncomfortable, I couldn’t sit for more than half an hour without my back or hips starting to hurt. Hopefully they are slated for replacement or upgrade sometime in the near future, I can’t imagine anyone finding them comfortable.

Very late review for the Convention Center — I attended Otakon here in August.
One of the downsides of this place, ironically, is the fact that it IS so large and directions within the different buildings can be quite confusing if the event isn’t organized properly (which I don’t feel that Otakon ’13 was). Since Otakon itself is moving to the D.C. area, the point is moot where they’re concerned, though.
Organization to actually get inside of the building was really awful, to be honest — people were milling around, standing in the way, and security personnel seemed a bit lost and detached, as if they didn’t quite know what to do.
Very few options if you want food or drink; all that I saw was a Starbucks, which was jammed with convention attendees — there was no way we were going to try to stand in that line just for a cup of coffee. Also, seating outside of the conference rooms was VERY sparse — a few couches and that’s about it. They need a LOT MORE places for people to sit down — I saw some attendees leaning on the walls, sitting on the floors, taking up room on the steps. Which is great, just not when you have over a hundred thousand people trying to walk by you.
The positives — and there are some — is that the Convention Center is actually ideal for larger gatherings. This would be my choice if I were to hold a massive event — the rooms are very large, the seats (when you can find them) are comfortable, and the upkeep is sublime (you wouldn’t even know these buildings were 20 years old unless someone told you). I would probably enjoy a well-​run and well-​organized event here. And, of course, it’s centrally located to all of the downtown attractions that a tourist would enjoy, which makes that even better.
If they could upgrade the food/​drink options in this building and improve security a little, I think this place would shine.

It’s a convention center. It’s big. It’s got huge ballrooms.
Problems, it’s in Baltimore and the convention center is a bit confusing to navigate through.

I’ve been to Baltimore Convention Center many times in my life for different conventions and I have to say, for a humongous place, there aren’t that many choices. This place is huge. Now, while it’s huge, the chairs are comfy for when you are listening to speakers, the spaces are large and great for any kind of event you need. They keep the place looking nice and even though it’s been around for years, it doesn’t look like it.
The only real complaint I have is for the Starbucks inside. These people don’t know how to make a Latte. Or a Mocha. Or even a Hot Chocolate. My poor taste buds.