Chicago is the data center hub of the Midwest, with significant campus development in Elk Grove Village, Aurora, and the broader suburban corridor. The event landscape serves both the local market and the broader Midwest region.
Connect3ctData Stadium Tour Chicago is an innovative event format that combines networking with unique venue experiences. These events attract a mix of developers, GCs, and technology vendors focused on the Midwest market.
The 7x24 Exchange Midwest chapter covers Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Chapter events rotate but Chicago hosts frequently given its central role in the regional market.
DICE Chicago brings the Bisnow event format to the Midwest data center community with focused single-day events. The attendance draws from across the Midwest and includes developers with active projects in the region.
SC26 (Supercomputing Conference) comes to Chicago in 2026 and while it is primarily an HPC conference, the data center infrastructure content has expanded significantly as AI workloads drive convergence between HPC and commercial data centers. With an estimated 15,000 attendees, it is the largest event touching data center infrastructure that will be held in Chicago.
The Midwest market has unique characteristics that make local events particularly valuable: ComEd and other utility relationships, the growing importance of the Chicago-Aurora corridor for hyperscale deployment, and the emerging opportunity in secondary Midwest markets like Columbus and Des Moines.