city spotlight

San Diego, CA

San Diego, CA is known for many things. There’s the fantastic weather, warm and sunny all year round, with fewer than 30 rainy days annually. In fact, real estate website Zillow ranks San Diego as having the best weather in the whole country!

Of course, the City in Motion has more going for it than its climate. It’s not known as America’s Finest City for nothing. Mile upon mile of sparkling beaches, attractions such as Balboa Park and Sea World, and the proximity of jewels such as La Jolla, provide plenty of reasons to enjoy a visit.

San Diego also has a reputation as the home of one of the biggest convention facilities in the country: San Diego Convention Center. It clocks in at 2.6 million square feet of space and is the home of annual events such as San Diego Comic-Con®, along with many conferences, expos, and trade shows. Other San Diego event centers include the tranquil Marina Village Convention Center in Mission Bay and the truly gorgeous Estancia La Jolla®, a combination hotel, spa, and corporate retreat.

Ensure your San Diego event is a success by bringing ProGlobalEvents on board! Our team of event designers, event planners and managers, and techies are what you need to ensure your event is both engaging and memorable. Whether you’re planning a trade show, exhibition, product launch, or corporate social event at Silicon Beach, call ProGlobalEvents.

Need help planning your San Diego event? We’re here to help.

ProGlobalEvents offers a full range of event services including design, planning, rentals, vendor & audience management, and post-event analysis. We’ll work hard to create a seamless event experience that’s exciting, engaging, and valuable for guests and attendees.

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Event Resources

San Diego Event Services

Planning an exhibition or corporate event is a huge task, with a wide range of skills needed to bring it all together.

  • Theme and content development
  • Designing the attendee experience
  • Contracting venues, vendors, and accommodation
  • Managing speakers and special guests
  • And more!

It’s much more than any single person can do, so it makes sense to work with a great team. ProGlobalEvents is a group of talented individuals with the skills and experienced needed to make every event all it can be. We can do the same for yours!

Event Design

Need help with event ideas?

The people who exhibit at and attend trade shows and other events are increasingly sophisticated in terms of their expectations for these events. Attendees want a seamless experience, with plenty of engaging and valuable content. Exhibitors have a similar set of expectations. It takes plenty of skill and experience to design an event that satisfies both groups of people! ProGlobalEvents has the expertise you need to design an event that’s engaging and valuable to exhibitors and attendees alike. Our creative team can handle all aspects of design, from theme development to content creation, to branding, digital media, and more.

Event Planning

Planning a trade show or corporate event is a huge task, with much to get done in a relatively short time. Designing event goals, finding sponsors, negotiating with venues and vendors, and more—and keeping track of finances and sticking to a tight schedule throughout the process. With ProGlobalEvents, planning even the largest event in San Diego is a breeze, thanks to our expert team and industry contacts. We can create and execute a comprehensive plan and make your event the talk of the industry for all the right reasons.

Event Management

Planning is only the beginning. There’s plenty to do once it goes live! During your event, the ProGlobalEvents team will be on hand to take care of every detail, to handle problems, and keep the event running smoothly. With ProGlobalEvents on board, your event is in expert hands.

Exhibit Production and Activation

Event management is definitely our forte, but it’s not all we do! ProGlobalEvents has access to over 120,000 square feet of exhibit manufacture and storage facilities too. We offer exhibition design and manufacture services, as well as shipping and storage, and installation and tear-down.

Virtual Events

Whether you’re converting a live San Diego, CA event into the online environment or are starting a virtual event from scratch, there’s just as much work to do as any other kind of event. Fortunately, ProGlobalEvents isn’t only a live event expert, we’re experienced when it comes to virtual events too. From planning the event to securing virtual sponsors, vendors, or exhibitors, from creating a theme to designing graphics and AV content, our industry knowledge serves us equally well online as in the world of live San Diego events.

ProGlobalEvents is a full-service virtual event management company, and we can put together a virtual event you’ll be proud of. We’re happy to provide partial service too. If there are certain things you prefer to manage yourself, feel free to hand the reins over to us for everything else.

Post-Event Analysis

When it comes to trade shows and corporate events, there’s more than one way to define success. It’s all about your goals and what you want your event to achieve. ProGlobalEvents can help here too, with data collection and event and financial review. You’ll gather lots of useful data about your San Diego event. Our insights can help you make future events even more successful.

ProGlobalEvents Provides the Expertise You Need to Ensure Success

Corporate events and industry events take a huge amount of work to design, plan, and produce, and it’s not a task for just one person! If you need a little help—or a lot—ProGlobalEvents is here to take the load off your shoulders. We can handle one or more specific aspects of the event, or provide a full-service event team that handles everything in San Diego from start to finish.

Contact us to get started:

San Diego Event Resources

San Diego Convention & Visitor Bureau

San Diego Convention Center™

The San Diego Convention Center is right in the center of downtown, in the Marina district. Not only is it a central location, within walking distance of many major city attractions, it also boasts incredible views of the city and bay. At a total of 2.6 million square feet, it’s one of America’s biggest convention centers. There’s 615,000 square feet of exhibition space, 204,000 of meeting space, a 90,000-square-foot pavilion, and an additional 284,000 square feet of lobby and pre-function space. Along with that, there’s another 184,000 feet of outdoor space. The icing on the cake? The center is only a five-minute shuttle ride from the airport!

Marina Village Convention Center

Thanks in part to its ocean-front location, the Marina Village Convention Center offers a completely different experience to that of the immense San Diego Center. The serenity of Mission Bay offers a more relaxed atmosphere, the perfect backdrop for training events, corporate retreats, workshops, corporate scavenger hunts, and team-building exercises. There’s plenty of room for trade shows and other large events too, with a total capacity of 2,100 people.

The University Club Atop Symphony Towers

If you’re looking for a special luxury venue, this is one to put on the list! As one of San Diego’s oldest private business clubs, the University Club is well-versed in the art of elite business events. For company holiday parties to formal business dinners, training and team-building sessions, directors’ meetings, and more, this venue provides an unparalleled level of luxury and attentive personal service. Club members receive special benefits, but membership isn’t required to host or attend a special event.

Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa

Who says you can’t mix business with pleasure? The Estancia at La Jolla makes it clear that business and pleasure are a great combination! Located near the beach in beautiful La Jolla, the hotel includes 210 comfortable guest rooms and 28 event rooms. There’s 25,000 square feet of flexible event space, including 15,000 square feet of private indoor space, 7,300 of outdoor space, and 10,000 of exhibition space.

Hilton® San Diego Bayfront

With 1,190 guest rooms, 165,000 square feet of meeting space, and some truly spectacular ocean views, there’s a lot to love about the Hilton on the bay. The hotel sports a total of 147 meeting rooms, ranging in size from 353 square feet up to the 61,200 of Bayfront Park, which holds 6,772 people at full capacity. In total, those 147 rooms can accommodate over 40,000 people, making this expansive hotel an ideal option for conferences and other large events.

Manchester Grand Hyatt® San Diego

One of the most iconic structures in San Diego, the Grand Hyatt has a grand total of 1,628 guest rooms, and 320,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space. With 47 meeting rooms, ranging from 102 square feet to 34,000, the hotel can accommodate conferences and other events of all sizes. The hotel is located near the San Diego Convention Center and the San Diego Airport, so it’s ideal as both a stand-alone venue and as a home-base for events at the Convention Center.

Porto Vista Hotel

Right in the center of Little Italy, with fabulous waterfront views, the Porto Vista Hotel is handy to numerous local attractions and just a few minutes from the airport. Along with 113 guest rooms, the Porto Vista offers 7,700 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, with a boardroom, banquet room, and rooftop terrace. For annual meetings, a company holiday party, training, and other small events, the central location and attractive hotel setting makes this one a winner.

The Westin® San Diego Gaslamp Quarter

This colorful hotel is in San Diego’s fun and funky Gaslamp Quarter, known for its nightlife and restaurants. The Westin offers 450 guest rooms and 30,000 square feet of meeting space over 21 event rooms. The largest room, at 9,064 square feet, has a maximum capacity of 1,200. Others range in size from 345 square feet all the way up to 5,940. The Westin is ideal for small-to-medium conferences, meetings, and corporate social events.

Upcoming San Diego Events

Jack Connolly

Executive Creative Director

As an experiential creative director, Jack prefers to draw outside the lines. He tells stories with original content and impactful design to ignite meaningful conversation.

 

Jack brings 20 years of event industry knowledge to ProGlobalEvents. He specializes in building live & virtual platforms for audiences to connect, engage and immerse themselves in the power of a shared experience. His skills range from ideation and concept development to defining an attendee journey through storytelling and design.

Jack understands the creative process is not linear, but a collaborative process between agency and client. He manages teams of designers and technology developers to pioneer impactful brand experiences. His diverse skillset and leadership ensure for award-winning results and memorable impressions.

 

In 2019, BizBash named Jack one of the top event designers in North America. SXSW awarded his work the “People’s Choice in Innovation” in 2021.

Jerome Nadel

Chief Marketing Officer

Jerome Nadel is Internationally experienced design-led marketing executive (CMO and GM) with a track record of improved market position, revenue growth, and M&A. He is an advance degreed psychologist and user experience product/service design expert, board member and advisor.

 

Prior to joining ProGlobalEvents |ProExhibits |XtendLive, he has had a variety of chief marketing officer and chief user experience officer roles at companies including Rambus, BrainChip, Human Factors International, SLP InfoWare, Gemplus, and Sagem. He started his career in the IBM Human Factors Labs.

 

He is also an avid cyclist with National and multiple California State Champion titles.

Ivan Fujihara

Chief Financial Officer

Ivan brings 25+ years in senior level management experience from a variety of technology industries.  His background includes accounting management, analytics and audit management for technology companies.  He has worked with companies such as THX, Ltd, Recruitology , Double Click, Creative Labs and more.  Ivan has also served on the board of Lincoln Families, a non-profit that supports East Bay children with the objective of disrupting the cycle of trauma and poverty.

Matt Rulis

Vice President of Sales

Matt is a marketing professional and has been managing marketing strategies, campaigns and environments for a diverse client base for over 15 years. From a service perspective, Matt and his team of Account Executives focus on fostering relationships to uphold a greater than 99% customer satisfaction rating year-over-year. Additionally, with extensive experience on the client-side of the industry, he understands that alignment between expectation and budget is paramount to a successful project. As a result, ProGlobalEvents' clients can expect a competitive advantage paired with top quality products and services. Matt is an avid fly-fisherman, enjoys most outdoor activities and is a true college football fanatic.

Tom Foley

VP of Operations

Heading the fabrication side of ProGlobalEvents is exhibit and event industry veteran, Tom Foley. For over 35 years he has been responsible for building amazing exhibits and environments for clients. Tom started out in the production area and has broad experience in project and operations management. He currently oversees production, warehouse, graphics and project management departments. Tom studied machine tool technology and welding before entering the industry. As a true "builder" he also enjoys restoring and modifying classic American cars.

Dick Wheeler

President

Dick serves as President of ProGlobalEvents and President of ProExhibits and is a board member of CEMA (Corporate Event Marketing Association). At ProExhibits he has been nationally recognized as an innovator and driving force in the fast-growing trade show exhibit and event industry. Under his leadership in 1997, the firm received INC magazine’s INC 500 award as one of America’s fastest-growing companies. His informative articles on developments and innovations in the trade show exhibit and event industry have appeared in national trade publications. Dick has a B.S. degree from Wittemore School of Business & Economics at the University of New Hampshire and has completed the Entrepreneurial Executive Leadership Program sponsored by MIT, YEO and INC. He is actively involved in Vistage, an interactive group of over 20,000 CEO’s and presidents worldwide and is a member of CEMA and EDPA.

Jody Tatro

Chief Executive Officer

In addition to being CEO of ProGlobalEvents, Jody is also the CEO of ProExhibits. With Jody at the helm, the company has been recognized repeatedly as one of the Top 50 Women Owned Businesses in Silicon Valley. She has set the outstanding client service standards for which the firm’s account management team is noted. Jody is a recipient of the YWCA’s Tribute to Women Award, the Junior League Community Volunteer Award and is listed in Who’s Who of Women in Business. Following her graduation from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Jody held various sales positions in several technology companies.