Iowa Event Center

The Iowa Events Center is downtown Des Moines' largest event complex, bringing together three interconnected venues — Casey's Center, the EMC Expo Center, and the Community Choice Convention Center — across more than 304,000 total square feet. Owned by Polk County and operated by Oak View Group, the complex opened its arena in 2005, added the EMC Expo Center in 2004, and expanded with the Community Choice Convention Center in 2012, which was converted from the historic 1955 Veterans Memorial Auditorium. The convention center's centerpiece is Iowa's largest ballroom, a 28,800-square-foot Grand Ballroom on Level 4 that accommodates over 3,000 guests and divides into two sections. A recently renovated Junior Ballroom on Level 1 offers 10,560 square feet with its own pre-function space and private entrance. Level 3 holds 21 individual meeting rooms spanning 50,000 square feet, divisible via operable airwalls, while the EMC Expo Center contributes 150,000 contiguous square feet of exhibit space across three halls, each served by covered loading docks. The facility is connected via an indoor skywalk to the adjacent 330-room Hilton Des Moines Downtown and offers 1,400 on-site parking spaces. In-house catering, audio/visual production, and dedicated event coordination are available for conventions, tradeshows, galas, and weddings alike.