Office Hours:
Monday – Friday
8:30am – 4:30pm
Closed major holidays

Ownership:
The Knoxville Convention Center (KCC) is owned by the City of Knoxville and opened for business in August 2002. The City started development of this future project in the mid 1990’s as an economic driver with the influx of conventions that would result in the creation of new jobs and businesses in and around Knox County. The KCC facility cost $93 million dollars to build. Additional funds were set forth to prepare the future site and redevelopment the World’s Fair Park as an adjacent greenway that enhances the KCC.

Management:
The KCC is managed by SMG, the leader in venue management, marketing and development worldwide. SMG has been on the ground with KCC project since 1999, consulting the City of Knoxville and design teams on facility on functionality and facility efficiencies. SMG's dedicated staff works closely with the hotel industry, Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation, vendors/suppliers, and businesses to help facilitate events and deliver the best environment for planners and guests.

For more information about SMG click here

Design:
The KCC, designed by Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates of Atlanta, GA, served as the lead design architect of this project. This award winning firm incorporated a wealth of their experience in convention center design. TVS received several awards for the KCC design to include: Silver Design Award given by the ASID Georgia Chapter in 2003, the Special Use Building Category Honor Award given by the Knoxville Metropolitan Planning Commission in 2004, and the Design Excellence Merit Award given by the American Institute of Architects, Tennessee Chapter in 2005. TVS shared technical design of the KCC with Associate Architects; McCarty, Holsaple, McCarty, a seasoned Knoxville based firm who undertook this joint venture.

Project Site:
The building site is on the west edge of the city urban core and adjacent to the site of the successful 1982 World’s Fair. Knoxville is a city of rich landscape and topographic form. This unique location creates an opportunity to reinforce the link from the World’s Fair Park site back to downtown while establishing a new gateway into the park.

Unlike most large footprint convention centers, which require service access on at least one side, the KCC has four separate positive facades, each addressing a different view to the surroundings. The facade relates to the city and its historic scale through the use of materials and detailing. The majority of the building envelope is clad in Tennessee marble, using both a smooth and fractured finish. This marble is selected to integrate the building into the surrounding context, since marble is used throughout the city. Copper coated metal and detailing are used to create the crafted scale around entrances and window openings.