The convention center's largest annual events include PAX West (formerly the Penny Arcade Expo), Emerald City Comic Con, Sakura-Con, and the Northwest Flower and Garden Show.

[12][13] The following year, the Seattle Chamber of Commerce formed a community task force representing government agencies and business groups to explore the remaining site options and submit a funding proposal to the state legislature.

[14] The task force, together with Mayor Charles Royer, announced their recommendation of the Metro Transit bus base site in December 1978, rejecting a plan from city-hired consultants and deciding instead to side with the business community.

[20][21] A citizen initiative restricting the city's ability to fund tourist activities, including the convention center, filed and placed on the November 1979 ballot by anti-tax activists.

[23][24] The state legislature formed a special committee in early 1981 to study the convention center proposal and a separate bipartisan commission to review its economic feasibility.

It faced some opposition because of the state's worsening debt problems, which could prevent it from repaying the bonds if the hotel-motel tax failed to fully cover construction cost.

Governor Spellman appointed the corporation's board of directors which included banker James Cairns Jr. as chair, civic activist Jim Ellis, former councilwoman Phyllis Lamphere, and business leaders from Seattle and the Eastside.

The Kingdome site, deemed the one "left behind" in the "two-horse race" between the freeway and Seattle Center proposals,[42] would replace the north parking lot and be adjacent to King Street Station.

[53][54] The convention center complex would include 140,000 square feet (13,000 m2) of exhibition space and a three-story glass enclosure facing Freeway Park and the retained 8th Avenue overpass.

[57] The convention center board signed an agreement with CHG International to develop the facility and manage private air rights above the freeway and adjacent to the building.

[63] The group later lobbied state legislators to overrule the convention center board's decision to put the renovation of low-income units in the Eagles Auditorium Building on hold.

[64] The draft environmental impact statement, published in November and amended in February 1984, recommended the state government choose the freeway site, and fund promotion and marketing for the new facility.

[72] The city council approved a zoning amendment and street vacation for the project and a compromise proposal with CHG to replace and rebuild 115 units of low-income housing near the convention center and contribute to a displacement mitigation fund.

[73][74] In early December, CHG filed for a bankruptcy petition to obtain new financing amid turmoil at its primary lender, Westside Federal Savings and Loan, who was also a signatory to the convention center agreement in September 1983.

To avoid reaching Westside's single-borrower lending limit and furthering complicating the project's funding arrangement, CHG had deeded its parcels to the bank prior to filing for bankruptcy.

[90][91] As part of earlier financial negotiations, the city government excluded the convention center from paying a $1.1 million contribution to the low-income housing fund, citing the project's favorable impact on the job market.

It was scheduled to be signed in August,[94] but last-minute concerns from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, charged with supervision of Westside, led to a breakdown in negotiations.

[98] Negotiations between the convention center board, the state government, FSLIC, and Industrial Indemnity (a subsidiary of Xerox and primary insurers of Westside's loan) continued until a comprehensive financing agreement was reached on November 4, 1985.

[6][100] Despite the ongoing negotiations to secure private financing, Paschen Contractors was awarded the project's $97.6 million construction contract on August 27, 1985; demolition work on the site began on September 17.

[101][110] Steelwork fell behind schedule in late August because of a shortage in imported Taiwanese steel pieces that were seized by federal inspectors to investigate and validate its origin.

[115] In March 1988, the state legislature approved a $58 million bond package to complete construction of the convention center and buy and renovate the nearby Eagles Building.

[142][143] A key element of the expansion project was an arched glass canopy and skybridge over Pike Street between the two halves of the convention center, connecting at the fourth floor.

[172][173] The $1.4 billion project was scheduled to begin construction in 2017 and open in 2020, adding 440,000 square feet (41,000 m2) of usable space—approximately double the current convention center's interior space.

[189] In April 2021, the convention center announced that it had sold $342 million in municipal bonds to private institutions to fund the budget shortfall with approval from the Washington State Treasurer in lieu of public financing.

[192][193] To prepare for its opening, the entire complex was renamed to the Seattle Convention Center (SCC) on April 18, 2022; the rebrand was originally planned to occur in June 2020 with fanfare, but was delayed and announced without a celebration due to the pandemic.

[205][206][207] Arch has 236,700 square feet (21,990 m2) of exhibition space on the fourth floor, divided into two halls connected by a 90-foot-wide (27 m) skybridge across the north and south sides of Pike Street.

[209] The exhibition level also has truck ramps connected to Hubbell Place and 23 loading docks,[202] along with freight elevator access and a dedicated bridge over Pike Street.

[216] The expansion incorporates environmentally-friendly features, including a rooftop solar array, reclaimed wood furnishings, radiant flooring for heating, and fabric paneling.

[222] Mowitch Man by Andrea Wilbur-Sigo of the Squaxin Island Tribe is installed outside the building, facing west toward Elliott Bay in a plaza at the intersection of Pine Street and Ninth Avenue.

[218] The Summit building was awarded LEED Platinum certification in December 2023 for its environmentally friendly features and design, which included reduced carbon emissions and energy use.