Virginia Beach Convention Center — Attraction in Virginia Beach

DO NOT GO HERE; especially if you are disabled. In short: Many, many ADA violations, dangerous crowd handling, atrocious planning, illegal traffic direction, and shockingly aggressive and rude employees. We attended a graduation. Some of these events are the school's fault, but most are on the convention center. We are a party of 5 and 4 of us are disabled. Man with no vest or identification is directing traffic; screaming at people to have parking placards in place before entering the parking lot. It is illegal to drive with a parking placard in place. We were not allowed to go to the disabled parking. We were forced into the far back of the lot, even though the front was almost empty. Disabled entrance was not clearly labeled. Disabled were not let in early. Volume inside was so loud some of us cried in pain and had to stuff tissues in our ears. A disabled person had to briefly step out because of her disability but was not allowed back in. Disabled were not let out first after the event, so we were smashed in between 2 tides of abled people. Our party got seperated several times. Outside there were no crowd control or help. The kids were just dumped onto the sidewalk to fend for themselves without cellphones or any means of finding their families. We searched for our kid for 20 minutes in a sea of people, many of them also calling for their kids or searching. We found and asked an employee for help and he was rude, condescending, dismissive, and obviously didn't know what he was talking about. We found another and he was also all of those, and straight up lied to us. He also appeared to be on some kind of drug. He said they had run these events many times and never had a problem and we were the first to have this problem and the only people having those problem out of 500 guests. Ok, #1. An event such as this can be run as smoothly as possible and there will still be problems. That's just how events work. So he is lying. #2. We already saw people in the crowd searching for their kids. So he is lying. #3. The graduating class was over 450 students. That would mean that only 50 family members attended. It can be assumed that each student probably has around 4 people attending with them. If we use the low end estimate, that means that there are OVER 2,000 PEOPLE ATTENDING. THIS. GUY. IS. LYING. He starts goading my sister into a fight (Which he would lose. She may walk with a cane but that cane is carbon fiber and she has combat training.) and I wouldn't have been far behind her but one of ours has the sense to leave. As we do, I say to him "I know you people are trained to do better than this." And he says "Thank you!" So he is clearly also an incapable moron because that was obviously an insult. We did eventually find our kid; in tears and panicking from trying to find us. I had to hold this kid while he sobbed into my shoulder, and I will not forgive for that easily. I worked for the city for 10 years. I know how obliviously inept they are. I have had nothing but bad experiences with the convention staff. One time an employee (one I know still works there) tried to take a water bottle from me and argued me into a panic attack. There are more ADA problems that happen there than we could count. Every single person there was in constant danger by the convention's actions. Shoving 2,000 people onto the sidewalk in confusion and with kids lost and running around is an appalling display of apathy that could have easily turned tragic. Imagine a shooter, a fire, predators, these people were all sitting ducks and with so many children. They aren't allowed to even bring their phones into the building and just turn them in for the event, but they are just going to be ejected from the building with no way to contact anyone? How easy would it be for someone to be hurt? Very, because my kid was. I was. All of us were badly. The situation was jarring, scary, exhausting, frustrating, and humiliating. I am never going back there if I can help it, and I warn everyone else to steer clear too. Just...

Today my family experienced the real “committed sportsmanship” by Cheer Dance extreme company while attending The One competition in Va beach. We paid the girl at the ticket booth who worked for va beach convention center $100 (5-$20s) for 2 adults tix for a 2 day entry fee $25/ each ticket. We were provided only 2 tickets. My wife questioned if this was right as we received 4 tickets in the past and we were told yes. When we handed our tickets in to enter the show, the man told us this was good for one day. We went back to the same lady that sold us the tickets who acted like we never gave her $100 cash. We requested a manager who never came. We didn’t want to miss our daughters routine so we used our tickets and was promised the manager would call our cell phone. We received no phone call. We returned back to the ticket window and now the woman who sold us the tickets was gone and relieved for the day ironically. I then approached a man named Bubba Lehrmann who stated he was the CEO of cheer dance extreme. I explained the situation to him and requested Erica who was the manager of the convention center. Bubba stated that he was the owner of cheer and dance. I explained that we were getting the run around after we paid $100. Bubba went on to tell me they hear these stories all time and that this is $50 out of his salary. I said so your accusing me of taking $50 out of your salary when this company brings in millions of dollars a year. I went on to tell him that if I walked in without paying I would be arrested but his company can take my money and they are not obligated to provide the services I rightfully paid for. When I requested video of the security cameras now all of a sudden Bubba (CEO) pushed that onto the convention center and his rude condescending comments quickly stopped. Cindy then came up and was caught in multiple lies. First they didn’t count the money like they told us then her story changed and she said her count was accurate and we only paid $50. I requested the security footage she said there was no camera there until I pointed out one right above the tickets booth heads. Cindy then claimed the camera wasn’t on and I provided that it’s illegal for a city owned building to have their cameras off where they are collecting money. Cindy walked away briefly then returned to tell me that she can’t tell me if they are on or not and I would have to file a right know to get the video. I explained that I would and I would list all parties in legal suit as it was going to cost money to obtain a right to know. About 30 mins later my wife received a phone call from Erica who stated she looked at the cameras and it shows her paying with 5 bills that is blurry but appeared to have the same “hairline” as a $10 bill. My wife said that was completely untrue and we paid with 5 $20 bills like we said in the beginning. About 30 mins later, Erica called again and said they had someone else count the money and yes it showed that there was an extra $50 over their count. Clearly showing we paid the money. Please allow this to be a warning that Bubba only thinks about his salary and VA beach convention center and Cheer Dance Extreme are very corrupt...

A Grand Venue for a Grand Occasion: A Four-Star Experience at the Princess Anne High School Graduation Virginia Beach, VA – The Virginia Beach Convention Center provided a fittingly grand backdrop for the momentous occasion of the Princess Anne High School Class of 2025 graduation ceremony this evening. The modern and spacious venue comfortably accommodated the enthusiastic crowd of families and friends, earning a solid four-star rating for its overall performance. From the moment of arrival, the convention center impressed with its clean, airy, and well-maintained environment. The expansive lobby and common areas effectively managed the flow of the large number of attendees, preventing the uncomfortable crowding that can often mar such significant events. Ample and clearly marked signage made navigating the large facility straightforward, a thoughtful touch for first-time visitors. Inside the main hall, the seating arrangement was plentiful, offering good sightlines to the stage from most vantage points. The acoustics were generally clear, allowing the speeches and the all-important announcement of the graduates' names to be heard throughout the vast space. The climate control was also commendable, maintaining a comfortable temperature despite the full house. The ceremony itself was a proud and emotional affair, and the convention center staff were largely unobtrusive, allowing the focus to remain on the graduates. Their professionalism in managing a crowd of this size contributed to a smooth and dignified event. The deduction of a single star stems from the common challenge of any large-scale event: parking and egress. While the convention center boasts a significant number of parking spaces, the sheer volume of vehicles for a well-attended graduation meant that finding a spot required some patience. Similarly, exiting the venue and the surrounding area after the ceremony was a slow process, a minor inconvenience at the end of an otherwise stellar evening. Overall, the Virginia Beach Convention Center proved to be an excellent choice for the Princess Anne High School graduation. Its impressive scale, cleanliness, and efficient crowd management created a comfortable and memorable experience for the families and friends celebrating this important milestone. With slightly smoother traffic flow, it would undoubtedly be a five-star venue for any large...