The Grand Ballroom of the Duke Energy Convention Center is a treat for the eye in a setting which overlooks the Ohio River. The ballroom will be the site of USITT’s Keynote, Kickoff and Annual Meeting in March. Other events scheduled in the room include the Fellows Address and New Products Showcase.

Photo/Courtesy Duke Energy Convention Center

Kathie Brookfield
Cincinnati Promotions Coordinator

When participants of the 49th Annual Conference & Stage Expo arrive at Cincinnati’s Duke Energy Convention Center to pick up their registration materials, they will find a vibrant building which recently underwent a dramatic redesign. The interior public spaces are bright and airy, with window walls and high ceilings.

Registration will be in the first floor lobby adjacent to Fifth and Elm streets, which is just outside the doors leading to Stage Expo and just steps away from the second floor meeting rooms to be used for sessions and panel discussions.

In case of inclement weather, sky bridges connect the Convention Center with all three USITT hotels and several nearby parking garages.

USITT also will be holding events in the Duke Energy Convention Center’s Grand Ballroom, the largest space in downtown Cincinnati and billed as one of the largest in the Midwest. Visitors will have several opportunities to enjoy the Grand Ballroom, as it will be the site of the D. Lynn Meyer’s Keynote address, the Opening Night party, plus the All Conference Reception, Fellows Address, Awards for Young Designers & Technicians in the Performing Arts, and the New Products Showcase.

The dramatic spaces outside the ballroom include views overlooking the Ohio River, the Cincinnati skyline, and interior views of the first two floors of the Convention Center.

An unusual feature of the Duke Energy Convention Center is an interior bridge which provides a fast connection between the north and south meeting rooms on the second floor. Its glass walls provide a bird’s eye view into the space where Stage Expo will be held. Blue carpets help remind visitors they are on the “river” side of the complex, too.

Those who have already registered for the Conference will be able to pick up badges and programs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17. On-site registration begins at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 18.

For more information and online registration, click here. A complete list of sessions can be found here.

To Top