Paducah Convention Center

What Paducah Convention Center does

The Paducah-McCracken County Convention & Expo Center is a multi-purpose event venue established in 1977 and located in downtown Paducah, Kentucky, along the Ohio River. The campus comprises two connected facilities totaling over 100,000 square feet of indoor event space: the Julian M. Carroll Convention Center, a 50,983-square-foot facility with 13 breakout rooms, 17 event rooms, and 4 ballrooms; and the Bill & Meredith Schroeder Expo Center, a 39,204-square-foot venue with 26-foot ceilings, 200+ booth capacity, and a multi-purpose sports court supporting up to 8 volleyball courts or 4 full-size basketball courts simultaneously. The largest single room is the Ohio Room at 7,830 square feet with theatre-style capacity of up to 783. The venue is owned by McCracken County and the City of Paducah and operated under management contract by VenuWorks, Inc., an Ames, Iowa-based venue management company, with governance provided by a local Convention Center Corporation Board of Directors.

The business generates revenue through three primary streams: (1) venue rental of convention, expo, ballroom, meeting, and breakout spaces for events ranging from trade shows and corporate conferences to concerts, sports tournaments, and community gatherings; (2) in-house food and beverage services featuring customizable menus prepared by an executive chef, full bar service with fine bourbon and craft beer, and banquet capacity for up to 1,000 guests; and (3) a subscription-based advertising program within the Expo Center priced at $20–$35 per month across 2- to 24-month agreements. Supporting revenue lines include equipment rental (staging, drapes, A/V, tables, chairs) and ancillary event services (security, paramedics, forklift operators, scissor-lift operators). Venue rental pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; only advertising rates are transparent.

The go-to-market is direct B2B sales. Event organizers contact the venue by phone (270-408-1346), email ([email protected]), or a website contact form; a Director of Sales manages inquiries and bookings. The company employs 11–50 staff including an Executive Director, Facility Operations Director, Director of Sales, Food and Beverage Manager, Business Manager, and Chef, supplemented by part-time ticket sellers, cooks, bartenders, and banquet servers. The customer base is horizontally segmented across corporate/business events, sports/athletic events, entertainment/live events, and community/civic organizations. The venue markets its position within Paducah — a UNESCO Creative City — alongside proximity to the National Quilt Museum, historic downtown amenities, and over 2,000 hotel rooms within five miles. No AI, proprietary software, patents, or technology integrations are disclosed; the technology profile is that of a physical venue with standard event-management tooling.

Name

Paducah Convention Center

Legal name

VenuWorks, Inc.

Website

https://paducahconventioncenter.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Paducah-McCracken County Convention & Expo Center operates over 100,000 square feet of event space in downtown Paducah, Kentucky. Managed by VenuWorks, Inc., it serves corporate, sports, entertainment, and community event organizers with venue rental, catering, equipment, and event services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Venue and Convention Center Services

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (711310)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Convention & Exhibition Centers (Public Convention Centers, Civic Centers) (THAHAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Conference Centers & Dedicated Meeting Venues (THAHAAAB), Fairgrounds & Expo Parks (THAHAAAH)

Keywords

• Event venue rental
• Convention center hosting
• Banquet and catering services
• Trade show facilities
• Expo center management

Headquarters

HQ city

Paducah

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Venue Rental: Rental of versatile event spaces including convention center, expo center, ballrooms, meeting rooms, and breakout rooms for various event types such as trade shows, conferences, banquets, concerts, and sports tournaments.
2. Food and Beverage Services: On-site gourmet dining experience with customizable menus prepared by skilled chef and kitchen staff. Full bar service featuring fine bourbon and craft beer. Catering from intimate meals for 20 to banquets for 1,000 guests.
3. Advertising Space: Sale of advertising space within the Expo Center including display advertising on walls and signage during events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Paducah-McCracken County Convention & Expo Center rents and operates over 100,000 square feet of versatile indoor event space across the Julian M. Carroll Convention Center and the Bill & Meredith Schroeder Expo Center for trade shows, corporate conferences, banquets, sports tournaments, concerts, and community gatherings. It provides integrated in-house food and beverage catering, equipment rental, event staffing, and on-site advertising. The venue is operated by VenuWorks, Inc. under a management contract with McCracken County and the City of Paducah.

Product overview

The Paducah-McCracken County Convention & Expo Center operates as a unified venue campus offering over 100,000 square feet of connected indoor event space. The portfolio consists of two core facilities: the Julian M. Carroll Convention Center (50,983 sq ft) providing traditional conference and banquet capabilities with multiple breakout rooms and ballrooms, and the Bill & Meredith Schroeder Expo Center (39,204 sq ft) designed for large-scale exhibitions and athletic tournaments. Supporting these venues are comprehensive food and beverage services with gourmet dining capabilities, equipment rental, professional event staffing, and advertising opportunities within the Expo Center.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Julian M. Carroll Convention Center: Main convention center building with 50,983 square feet of multi-purpose indoor space, featuring 13 breakout rooms, 17 event rooms, and 4 ballrooms.
• Bill & Meredith Schroeder Expo Center

Products and services

• Julian M. Carroll Convention Center A 50,983 square foot multi-purpose indoor event facility featuring 13 breakout rooms, 17 event rooms, and 4 ballrooms, designed to accommodate trade shows, corporate conferences, banquets, expos, and community gatherings.
• Bill & Meredith Schroeder Expo Center A 39,204 square foot versatile venue with 26 ft ceilings and capacity for 200+ booths, featuring a multi-purpose sports court accommodating up to 8 volleyball courts or 4 basketball courts, suitable for concerts, sporting events, expos, and live shows.
• Food and Beverage Services Gourmet dining experience with freshly prepared menus by skilled chef and kitchen staff, customizable for themes and dietary restrictions, serving intimate meals for 20 to banquets for 1,000, complemented by a full bar featuring fine bourbon and craft beer.
• Equipment Rental On-site equipment including staging, drapes, house scissor lift, lecterns, wireless/internet access, extension cords, tables and chairs, power strips, and projection screens available for event use.
• Event Services Professional event support including first aid/paramedic, event security, T-shirt security, scissor lift operators, forklift operators, and connections to local vendors for photography, DJ services, and decorating.
• Advertising Opportunities Advertising placement options within the Expo Center featuring full-color displays with monthly rates ranging from $20-$35 depending on contract length, targeting thousands of attendees at sporting events, practices, and competitions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Host events for up to 1,000 banquet guests
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• VenuWorks, Inc.coreOthersVenuWorks, Inc. is the management company that operates the Paducah-McCracken County Convention & Expo Center. Based in Ames, Iowa, VenuWorks provides venue management services for convention centers and event facilities across the country. The company handles operations, staffing, and overall venue management.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Owensboro Convention Center: Owensboro Convention Center is a publicly-owned multi-purpose event facility in neighboring western Kentucky. It offers comparable exhibit, ballroom, and meeting space, targets similar corporate, association, and consumer event demand, and competes for overlapping regional bookings with Paducah.
• Jackson Convention Complex: Jackson Convention Complex in Mississippi is a publicly-owned convention facility of comparable scale, hosting corporate events, conferences, banquets, and sporting events in a similarly sized mid-South market. It is one of the closest direct comparables to Paducah in footprint, ownership structure, and target customer mix.
• Shreveport Convention Center: Shreveport Convention Center is a municipal convention facility of similar scale in northwest Louisiana, hosting conventions, trade shows, sporting events, and banquets. Its operating model, target customer mix, and physical infrastructure closely mirror Paducah's, making it a strong comparable.

Regional players

• Cape Girardeau Show Me Center: Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri is a regional multipurpose arena and event venue located roughly 50 miles from Paducah. It draws from an overlapping customer base in southeast Missouri and competes for some of the same regional sporting events, concerts, and consumer shows.

Broad incumbents

• Kentucky International Convention Center: Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville is the flagship convention venue in the state and overlaps in corporate, association, and trade-show demand with Paducah. While larger in scale, it competes with Paducah for regional Kentucky events that might otherwise have chosen a mid-size venue, particularly once recent renovations are fully amortized into its go-to-market.
• Duke Energy Convention Center: Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati is a publicly-owned, mid-size-to-large convention venue with similar exhibit and ballroom capabilities. It competes for the same Mid-America corporate, association, and consumer show circuit and is run under a comparable public-private operating model.
• ASM Global: ASM Global is the largest venue-management company in the world, operating convention centers, arenas, and stadiums on behalf of public owners. It is the closest incumbent analog to VenuWorks' venue-management business model applied to Paducah Convention Center, and directly competes for the same municipal management contracts at comparable mid-size venues.
• Cook Convention Center (Memphis): The Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis is a comparable mid-South publicly-owned convention venue with exhibit, ballroom, and meeting space. It anchors a larger metro market but competes for some of the same regional trade-show, corporate, and consumer event demand that Paducah targets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PaducahExpo
• Facebookfacebook.com/paducahconventioncenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/22336120
• Instagraminstagram.com/paducahconvcent

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Paducah Convention Center