AV Production at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Prime AV produces general sessions, galas, and multi room conferences at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center with our own crew and gear, working inside the building’s exclusive rigging, electrical, and internet rules.
If the in-house quote just arrived and you want an independent production company that knows the docks, the steel, and the partners, this is the page for you.
How we produce at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Halls, ballroom, and 79 meeting rooms
The building has 703,000 square feet of exhibit space in Halls A through E on two levels, a 52,000 square foot ballroom that divides into three, and 79 meeting rooms. A general session can sit in a hall for 8,000 people or in the ballroom for a few thousand, and the AV plan is completely different for each.
We design for the room you booked: a hall needs delay towers, a large LED wall, and long cable runs; the ballroom needs a tighter rig and sight lines around the divisible walls. Tell us the room and we will send a layout before the quote.
Rigging heights and who hangs it
Rigging to the building structure is exclusive to the center through GLP, so our truss, motors, and lighting are designed to their points and hung by their riggers. Published steel sits at roughly 30 to 39 feet in Halls A through C, 40 to 52 feet on the main beams in Halls D and E, and 17 to 22 feet in meeting rooms.
We submit the rigging plot, coordinate the labor call, and ground support anything that does not need to fly. Halls D and E take vertical loads only, so bridling designs that work elsewhere have to change here, and we know that before the plot goes in.
Power, internet, and the exclusive partners
Hi-Tech Electric is the exclusive electrical contractor and Smart City is the exclusive internet and telecom provider. Show power and hard line internet are ordered through them, on their lead times, and we build our distribution and networking from their drops.
We place those orders with you or for you, size the power for the actual show load, and bring our own distro, cabling, and cable ramps. Cables cannot cross doorways or thresholds here, so runs use the overhead trays above the service entrances.
Load-in: docks on M Street and a dockmaster
Trucks enter the docks eastbound on M Street: 7th and M for Halls A through C, 9th and M for Halls D and E. Standard dock hours are 6 am to 9 pm, staging space on the ramps is limited, and show management provides a dockmaster when more than one event shares a dock level.
We schedule our trucks around your general contractor, show up with a manifest, and keep our footprint on the dock small. Carpenters, Teamsters, and IATSE stagehands work the building, and we plan the labor calls with you so there are no surprises on the invoice.
Working alongside the in-house provider
Projection Presentation Technology is the preferred in-house AV provider and the exclusive operator of the house sound and video systems. Outside production companies produce general sessions, galas, and breakouts here all the time, and we have a clear way of working next to the house team.
We bring our own sound, LED, lighting, cameras, and crew for the show, use the house system only where it makes sense, and coordinate patching and operation with Projection. You get one production company accountable for the result, and the building gets what its rules require.
The details that change your budget here
The convention center is a well run building with firm rules. These are the ones that change a quote or a timeline, pulled from the published rigging and event guides and confirmed on every show advance.
Rigging deadlines
Plots go to the center’s rigging partner, not to us alone.
Hall differences
A, B, C behave differently from D and E.
Exclusive partners
Ordered through them, built on by us.
Trucks and docks
M Street in, M Street out.
Frequently asked questions
Can we use an outside AV company at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center?+
Yes. Projection is the preferred in-house provider and runs the house sound and video systems, but outside production companies produce general sessions, galas, and breakouts in the building regularly. We bring our own equipment and crew, follow the center’s rigging, electrical, and labor rules, and coordinate with Projection where house systems are involved.
Who handles rigging at the convention center?+
Rigging to the building structure is exclusive to Events DC through GLP. We design the rig, submit the plot, and GLP riggers make the attachments. Anything that does not need to fly we ground support with our own truss and towers.
How do we order power and internet?+
Show power comes from Hi-Tech Electric and hard line internet from Smart City, both exclusive. We tell you exactly what to order, or place the orders with you, and build our own distribution and network from their drops.
How far ahead should we start planning?+
Rigging plots are due at least 21 days before load in and special equipment 30 days, and power and internet orders have their own lead times. We like to start the advance six to eight weeks out for a general session and earlier for a multi day conference.
What does Prime AV bring to a show here?+
Sound systems with delay towers for the halls, LED video walls and projection, stage lighting, cameras and switching for IMAG, recording and live streaming, and a show caller. Everything arrives on our trucks with our crew, and one producer is your point of contact from advance to strike.
Planning a meeting or conference? Start with an RFP.
Download our free Event AV & Production RFP Template, fill in what you know, and email it to sales@goprimeav.com. We will help you build the scope.
Download the RFP TemplateProducing at the convention center?
Send us the room, the dates, and the agenda
You will get a layout, an itemized quote, and a straight answer on what the building’s exclusive partners will charge on top. Same crew and gear from load in to strike.