Association Meetings: Melbourne Grabs Convention Spotlight

Byline: Edited by Barbara L. Brewer

BY THE YEAR 2008, Melbourne will be home to Australia's largest exhibition and convention center. The city's new 5,000-seat convention center will be capable of hosting a single convention for 5,000 or two concurrent 2,000-attendee events. It will be connected to the existing Melbourne Exhibition Centre and, on completion of construction, renamed the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre. On the banks of the Yarra River, Melbourne (www.mcvb.com.au) has been undergoing an urban renewal. Since a phased opening beginning in 2002, Federation Square - a city block on the river's edge - has become a center of arts and culture, dining and entertainment. The National Gallery of Victoria recently reopened after a four-year redevelopment and now offers a great new venue for group events. Melbourne has more than 19,000 guest rooms, including the new $136 million hotel at the Crown Entertainment Complex.

Meet in the dunes with IACC standards: The 88-room Sanderling Resort, Spa & Conference Center (www.thesanderling.com) on North Carolina's Outer Banks in Duck, N.C., offers a stunning seaside location. The wireless 1,550-square-foot Sanderling Conference Center can host groups of 10 to 100. The conference center's Swan and Heron rooms open onto a private deck for breaks, and the boardroom can accommodate as many as 20 people. Upstairs is a private executive suite with decks and ocean views, suitable for receptions or small, informal meetings. The Sanderling's 8,000-square-foot spa was recently renovated.

The Hilton Long Beach (Calif.) unveiled its Executive Meeting Center in May. The center is adjacent to the Hilton Long Beach (www.hilton.com) and is the only meeting facility in the South Bay/Orange County region to meet the International Association of Conference Centers' guidelines. It has an 88-seat amphitheater, T-4 Internet lines and data ports on each meeting table, a dedicated services staff and concierge, and all-inclusive meeting packages. There are 12 meeting rooms for from five to more than 100 attendees.

The 15 story Radisson Plaza Hotel Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Convention Center (www.radisson.com/myrtlebeaches) opened early this year. It is adjacent to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center and has 402 rooms and a 30,000-square-foot outdoor special events plaza.

The renovated Ojai Valley Inn & Spa (www.ojairesort.com), in Ojai, Calif., debuted a Spanish Colonial - style conference center this fall. A 73-mile drive from Los Angeles and 45 minutes from the Santa Barbara and Oxnard airports, the conference center has a total of 35,000 square feet of function space. The new 4,800-square-foot Anacapa Ballroom has lots of natural light and a flexible floor plan. The 6,000-square-foot Hacienda Ballroom is large enough for receptions for 650 people. The E.D. Libbey Boardroom seats 12, and four new villas at Ojai can be used as retreats for small groups.

In November, the $122 million Greater Tacoma (Wash.) Convention & Trade Center (www.tacomaconventioncenter.com) opened with 76,000 square feet of meeting space, a 51,500-square-foot main exhibit hall, a 13,650-square-foot ballroom, 11,200 square feet of meeting space/breakout rooms, and pre-function areas with views of Mount Rainier and Commencement Bay.

Voters across Mississippi's Harrison County have approved a $68 million bond issue to expand the Mississippi Coast Coliseum & Convention Center in Biloxi. (www.mscoastcoliseum.com) The expansion will be funded by a 2 percent hike in the county hotel tax.

The heat is on! Literally. As construction advances on the new 154,000-square-foot St. Charles (Mo.) Convention Center, the building has been enclosed, the heat turned on, and efforts are focusing on the interior. The facility will feature a 27,600-square-foot exhibit hall and a 16,200-square-foot grand ballroom. An April 9, 2005, grand opening is anticipated.

Congress Hall, a 106-room hotel in Cape May, N.J., has finished its conference center with the addition of the 1,600-square-foot Harrison Room. Congress Hall has a 4,200-square-foot ballroom that can seat 350 guests for dinner or 425 theater-style, as well as a full-service spa.

In Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, the Westin Rio Mar Beach Resort & Golf Club (www.westinriomar.com) opened a new $1.25 million, 7,000-square-foot spa this fall. Mandara Spa has 11 treatment rooms. The resort has more than 48,000 square feet of meeting space, two championship golf courses, 13 Har-Tru tennis courts, and a 7,000-square-foot casino.