Association Meetings: Hartford Scores with New Center

Byline: Edited by Barbara L. Brewer

The $271 million Connecticut Convention Center at Adriaen's Landing (www.ccda.state.ct.us/adriaen/convention) opened in June in Hartford. The building, which began construction in 2001, is 540,000 square feet. It includes a 10-story glass atrium, more than 200,000 square feet of meeting space, and 145,000 square feet of exhibit space. The center offers expansive views of the city and the Connecticut River. It has a 40,000-square-foot ballroom and is served by more than 6,500 local area hotel rooms. Nearly 200 events have already been scheduled for its first year of operation. The center is the anchor of a 30-acre development, Adriaen's Landing, still under construction, which will include retail and entertainment facilities and is part of a massive $2 billion revitalization project under way in the city. Also in the city, the Marriott Hartford Downtown, will open in August with 409 rooms and suites and 113,000 square feet of meeting space. And the Hilton Hartford, with 403 rooms and suites and 15,000 square feet of meeting space, celebrated its grand reopening in March after completing a $34 million renovation. It is connected to the Hartford Civic Center.

In November in Atlantic City, Tropicana Casino And Resort (www.tropicana.net) opened its Cuba-themed expansion, the Quarter, a three-story indoor streetscape lined with 25 stores, an IMAX theater, nightclubs, and restaurants. By this fall, Caesars Entertainment will renovate and open a former pier as a lavish shopping and entertainment district with 90 retailers.

Construction on Raleigh, N.C.'s, new convention center began in April. The Raleigh Convention Center (www.rccproject.com/home.asp) is scheduled to open in spring 2008 in downtown with 150,000 square feet of exhibit space, 30,000 square feet of meetings space in 16 meeting rooms, and a 32,000-square-foot ballroom. A 400-room Marriott hotel and 980-space parking deck are also part of the project.

In Indianapolis, $900 million has been approved for expansion of the Indiana Convention Center (www.iccrd.com) and new stadium. In April, the legislature approved $900 million in funding. The planned completion date for the new stadium is 2008, while the convention center expansion, on the footprint of the RCA Dome, is slated for completion in 2010. When finished, the project will provide 733,700 square feet of exhibit space, including 583,700 square feet of contiguous exhibit space in the convention center plus 150,000 square feet of exhibit space in the new, connected, multipurpose stadium. Approximately 250,000 square feet of ballroom and meeting space will include a new 68,000-square-foot ballroom to complement the existing 33,000 square foot Sagamore Ballroom.

The 350,000-square-foot Shreveport Convention Center (www.shreveport-bossier.org) is scheduled to open in January 2006 in Shreveport, La. In the heart of the downtown business district, the convention center will have 100,000 square feet of column-free exhibit space that can accommodate 470 booths and be divided into three separate halls. The second level will have an 18,000-square-foot ballroom (that can be subdivided into four rooms), which will accommodate up to 2,000 people for a general session and 1,500 for a banquet. An additional 10 meeting rooms will be on the second level, along with a boardroom. A 316-room Hilton, slated to open this fall, will be connected to the center. The convention center is within walking distance of Las Vegas - style casinos and the nightlife of the Red River Entertainment District.

The grand opening of the new 154,000-square-foot St. Charles (Mo.) Convention Center (www.historicstcharles.com/sccc/Default.aspx) took place in April. The center, managed by Philadelphia-based Global Spectrum, has a 27,600-square-foot main exhibit hall that can be expanded to 35,700 square feet by using the adjacent junior ballroom. The center also features a 16,200-square-foot grand ballroom, 7,070 square feet of separate meeting room space, a full-service kitchen with in-house catering, and spacious pre-function areas complete with a grand fireplace.

The Newport Beach Marriott (www.marriott.com) in California's Newport Beach is undergoing a $60 million renovation that will include a new restaurant and a new 14,000-square-foot spa. A fall 2005 opening is expected.

In Tacoma, Wash., the $84 million Tacoma Convention & Trade Center (www.tacomaconventioncenter.com) opened earlier this summer 18 miles from Sea-Tac International Airport. The 277,000-square-foot facility has 51,000 square feet of column-free exhibit space, a 14,000-square-foot ballroom, 11,000 square feet of breakout meeting space, and a glass-enclosed pre-function area with mountain and water views. Tacoma offers free light-rail transportation throughout the downtown area, enabling attendees to easily visit museums, restaurants, and shops.

Anchorage, Alaska, voters have approved a hotel room tax hike to 12 percent from 8 percent to fund construction and operation of a new 193,000-square-foot, $93 million downtown convention center. The center will have roughly 93,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting for up to 5,000 delegates. Opening is slated for September 2009.