Food and restaurants
McDonald's, Mondelez and the Restaurant Show bring food brands to town. An AI photo booth with menu or brand frames fits a franchise meeting or a booth.
480+ corporate events · 5 years
Corporate Events in Chicago: Full-Service Planning
Run corporate events in Chicago with a team that knows what McCormick Place lets exhibitors do and what a January load-in looks like on Lake Shore Drive. We plan the program and bring our own racing, flight and photo stations.
Corporate event venues in Chicago
Chicago's big rooms differ in dock access, ceiling height and walking distance, and those details decide which station fits where.
McCormick Place
The largest convention center in North America, with 2.6 million sq ft of exhibit space in four buildings: North, South, West and Lakeside Center. About 3 million people visit each year. Booths in different buildings can be a long walk apart, so we map the dock, the route and your booth number before move-in.
Navy Pier
Festival Hall at Navy Pier covers 170,000 sq ft and splits into Hall A and Hall B. The ceiling rises to 60 ft at the center, and an eight-truck dock serves the hall. It hosts art fairs, galas and esports nights, and 34 meeting rooms sit next to it.
Hyatt Regency Chicago
With 2,032 rooms, it's the largest hotel in the city. It has 240,000 sq ft of event space, including a 70,000 sq ft exhibition hall, and finished renovating all of its rooms in January 2026. Hotel ballrooms like these suit sales kickoffs and awards nights, where a station fills the reception before dinner.
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
In Rosemont, next to O'Hare. The 840,000 sq ft center opened in 1975, and its Hall A alone covers 250,000 sq ft. It suits fly-in meetings that never need to go downtown.
Schaumburg Convention Center
About 148,624 sq ft in the northwest suburbs, 12 miles from O'Hare, with a 500-room Renaissance hotel attached. The main hall fits 450 booths under 30-ft ceilings, which works for regional dealer meetings.
THE MART
The former Merchandise Mart on the river in River North hosts NeoCon each June. Showroom events here run floor by floor, so we confirm freight elevator times with the building.
Chicago trade show calendar
Book your booth activity early: exhibitor manual deadlines for power and freight close weeks before these shows open.
McCormick Place rules, permits and COI
Chicago has strict building rules, and knowing them up front keeps a labor bill from growing on site.
Exhibitor rights.
Under Illinois law and the McCormick Place Exhibitor Bill of Rights, full-time exhibitor employees can set up a booth of any size with their own tools and plug in their own AV. These rights don't pass to contractors, so we check your show's labor rules for our stations before move-in.
What you can't use.
Forklifts, pallet jacks, scissor lifts and motorized dollies are off limits for exhibitors. Heavy items come through the dock with the show's freight contractor.
Small loads.
The ASUV program lets you unload cars and small vans at set docks with a non-motorized hand truck.
Fire rules.
Fabrics must meet NFPA 701, only one day of material may sit in the booth, and empty boxes can't stay behind the back wall.
Insurance.
Venue COIs name the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and the Chicago Park District. We send our insurance documents on request with the names your show requires.
Street and park events.
The city's special event permit (DCASE) opens 180 days out and closes 21 days before the event. Review takes up to 35 business days, so apply early.
Two bases, one team
We have two bases, Los Angeles and Orlando, and work across the U.S. The same team runs your event from setup to teardown.
Where Chicago companies meet
- The Loop. Towers along Wacker Drive, including Willis Tower with United Airlines' headquarters. Office events here depend on freight elevator slots.
- West Loop and Fulton Market. McDonald's headquarters and Hamburger University, plus Google and Mondelez offices in a former warehouse district. Loft venues and rooftops fill on summer evenings.
- River North. THE MART and the hotels along the river.
- Streeterville. Navy Pier and the lakefront hotels.
- South Loop. McCormick Place and the hotels around it, a mile south of the Loop.
- Rosemont and the O'Hare area. The Stephens center and airport hotels for fly-in meetings.
- Schaumburg and Oak Brook. Suburban headquarters such as Ace Hardware and TreeHouse Foods in Oak Brook, with parking that downtown can't match.
Where your guests work decides the venue as much as the guest count does.
Planning across the Midwest? See corporate events in Indianapolis and corporate events in Minneapolis.
Chicago corporate event ideas by industry
Chicago's main employers have their own event habits, and a station that matches the trade gets guests talking shop.
Manufacturing and supply chain
IMTS and ProMat fill McCormick Place with machine builders. A truck or racing simulator with a leaderboard gives an engineering crowd a contest they respect.
Airlines and travel
United Airlines' headquarters is in the Loop. A flight simulator suits an employee day or a family open house.
Medical and healthcare
RSNA brings radiology to McCormick Place each year. Quiet, hands-on stations work between sessions on a busy medical floor.
Finance and trading
Firms in the Loop host client nights and holiday parties in hotel ballrooms, where racing with a podium turns a reception into a contest.
Event planning services in Chicago
Pick one service or let us plan the whole event; each section links to its own page.
Photo booth rental in Chicago
AI and 360 photo booths for booths at McCormick Place, galas at Navy Pier and holiday parties in River North. Our photo booth rental in Chicago page covers formats, prints and branding.
DMC services in Chicago
For groups flying into O'Hare, we handle hotels, transfers, dinners and activities as one plan. Read about destination management in Chicago.
Indoor team building activities in Chicago
Our racing, flight and surf simulator contests run indoors in your office, a hotel or a West Loop loft. See our team building programs.
AV rental in Chicago
Speakers, microphones, screens and a technician for a town hall in the Loop or a breakout room at the Hyatt Regency. We also run hybrid event production in Chicago for teams split between the office and home. Book AV rental with a technician.
Experiential marketing agency in Chicago
Brand activations for a launch in Fulton Market or a sponsor zone at Navy Pier, with stations in your colors and our staff running them. See experiential marketing.
Event staffing in Chicago
Operators for every station, plus hosts and booth staff for a McCormick Place show such as the Restaurant Show or RSNA. The roles are on our event staffing page.
Corporate entertainment in Chicago
Games, simulators and photo stations for a reception at the Hyatt Regency, a conference in Rosemont or a holiday party in River North. Browse corporate entertainment by event type.
Interactive rentals
Racing, flight, surf and truck simulators, VR stations and photo booths. For an IMTS or ProMat booth, ask about cockpits wrapped in your brand colors. See all interactive rentals.
Questions about corporate events in Chicago
Do we need union labor to set up at McCormick Place?
Not for work your own full-time employees do inside the booth. Illinois law lets them set up and plug in at any booth size. Freight in and out of the hall goes through the show's contractor. For our stations, we confirm the show's labor rules before move-in.
Who do we name on the certificate of insurance at McCormick Place?
The venue asks for the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and the Chicago Park District as additional insured. Your show may add its own contractor. We send our insurance documents with those names on request.
Can you load in during a Chicago winter?
Yes. We plan for cold and snow from December through February and use covered docks where the venue has them. Stations stay boxed until they're inside.
Do we need a city permit for an outdoor event in Chicago?
For events on city streets or public spaces, yes: the DCASE special event permit. Apply at least 21 days ahead, and earlier is better because review takes up to 35 business days. Park District events have their own application.
When is the best season for an outdoor corporate event in Chicago?
June through September. July highs average about 84°F, while January averages about 25°F, so outdoor plans from November to March need an indoor backup.
Where should we hold a corporate holiday party in Chicago?
Indoors, close to where your team works: a River North hotel, a Navy Pier ballroom or a West Loop loft. December nights are cold, so we load in through a covered dock and keep the stations away from the doors.
What does a corporate event planner in Chicago handle for us?
We find the venue, from a McCormick Place hall to a West Loop loft, plan the program and interactive, handle the show forms and DCASE permits, and run the day.
How do you price a Chicago event?
Each event gets a custom quote. In Chicago it depends on the venue, the show's freight orders at McCormick Place, DCASE permits for outdoor dates and travel, plus station count, hours, branding and staff. Read how we quote.
Plan your Chicago event
Tell us the date, the venue or neighborhood and your guest count. We'll check availability and send a quote in minutes.
Tell us about your Chicago event
Send the event type, date, venue or neighborhood, guest count and budget, and we'll reply right away. Or call +1 213 912 1010
