The building that will host the upcoming World Meeting of Families
The Philadelphia Convention Center, where the VIII World Meeting of Families will take place in 2015, boasts 93 thousand square meters on the main floor, 46 thousand seats, 79 meeting rooms and a hotel of 1200 rooms.
Located in the city center, the Convention Center is an award winning architectural gem, which hosts important meetings and fairs throughout the year (around 250 a year at the regional and international levels) and having – during special events such as the Fancy Brigade Finale, the Philadelphia Auto Show and the Philadelphia Flower Show – 250 thousand visitors in a period of just a few weeks. The Center, inaugurated in 1993 and receiving between 2006 and 2011 an important expansion adding 35,000 to the original space of 58,000, represents one of the most notable structures in the country. Inside there are also 2 large ballrooms (8,000 square meters together) and the Reading Terminal Market, which is a melting pot of cuisine where each day there is a wide variety of excellent food served from all corners of the world. The Convention Center is strategically located as 40% of the population of the USA is within only an hour distance by car. Also, the connections via train are great, be it through Amtrak’s 30th Street Station (the third ranking station in terms of traffic in the region) or through Market East Regional Rail Station (directly connected to the Center). Connections via air are also good, as the airport located in the southern part of the city is only a few kilometers from the Convention Center.