SCC has new leadership, a VP search underway, and a 2026 campus master plan in development. Here's what the signals say — and what to watch for.
Jennifer LeMaster became SCC's President and CEO in September 2024, joining from the Georgia World Congress Center Authority — an organization that operates a convention center, a domed stadium, and a hotel complex on a unified campus. Multi-use campus programming was her baseline, not the exception.
In late 2025, SCC's longtime Director of Sales — in the role since the building opened in 1988 — transitioned to a Senior Advisor position. In February 2026, SCC posted a search for his replacement: a Vice President of Commercial Strategy and Sales. The position overview calls for candidates to "drive a 365-day utilization mindset across both facilities" and lead growth in tradeshows, sports, and special events. The person who built the convention-only sales model was replaced with a posting that explicitly asks for something different.
SCC has announced a 2026 campus master plan is in development. No public details have been released. The plan is expected to address long-term programming, the relationship between the Arch and Summit, and the convention center's role in Seattle's convention ecosystem.
The campus master plan will be the PFD's public statement of intent. It will frame whether the Arch is seen as a convention overflow space, a venue-for-hire, or something else entirely. That framing matters for any restructuring conversation — a master plan that commits the Arch to convention use makes the Commons proposal harder; a plan that acknowledges utilization gaps creates an opening.
The 365-day utilization goal in the VP posting is notable. The Arch currently goes dark during slow convention periods. The new VP will own that problem. Whether the solution is more convention bookings or a broader programming model — including the kind of year-round public use the Commons envisions — is exactly the question this plan should answer.
We'll update this page when the master plan is published or when significant new details emerge.
SCC has not released the full campus master plan. When it's published, we'll add analysis here — what it says about the Arch, what it doesn't say, and what it means for the restructuring conversation.
The new leadership, the VP posting, and the pending master plan are all signals about where SCC intends to take the buildings. The Commons proposal doesn't require the PFD to change its convention mission — it proposes a different use for one building, during the hours and seasons that building currently sits dark.
What-If: Restructuring →