convention center

The new Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriot in Ocean City, Md., held its official ribbon cutting and opening ceremony. The ceremony was attended by Governor Larry Hogan and several other notable personalities, and signifies an exciting time for the prominent beach town.

“The Fairfield Inn & Suites offers visitors the perfect home base with access to all the wonderful attractions Ocean City has to offer,” says Alina Kellar, general manager. “Our goal is to provide our guests with the best service and allow them to create memorable moments here in Ocean City.”

Hilton Garden Inn Philadelphia Center City completed renovations to the 10th floor meeting space and the Garden Grille & Bar.

Upgrades include new televisions and furniture on the 10th floor. An ADA motorized lift was installed in the Garden Grille & Bar and will lower one end of the bar to accommodate all guests. The renovations were designed to give the hotel a modern, contemporary look.

Renovations in the 3,400-square-foot 10th floor meeting space also included new window treatments, new carpet and marble countertops.

The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau announced that 2016 was its highest convention booking year ever with 713 events and 903,199 hotel room nights secured for future years. This is an 18.2 percent increase in the number of events and a 5.8 percent increase in room nights secured during 2015.

In early March, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo broke ground on the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center expansion on Manhattan’s West Side. This groundbreaking marks the beginning of construction on the first phase of the $1.5 billion expansion project.

Meet Minneapolis, Convention and Visitors Association, revealed the winners of its annual awards at the 2017 Meet Minneapolis Annual Meeting on March 2 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. More than 530 partners, elected officials and other guests attended the event. Meet Minneapolis highlighted a milestone year for hospitality in Minneapolis and unveiled the city’s first-ever tourism master plan, Destination Transformation 2030.

The Oklahoma City Council has approved the preliminary report for the new $288 million downtown Oklahoma City Convention Center. Oklahoma City and Populous have been working together since 2010 to build a new convention center through the Metropolitan Area Projects 3, which is a 1-cent, self-funded sales tax initiative that was passed in 2009 by Oklahoma City voters.

The Los Angeles Convention Center has partnered with the U.S. Green Building Council and Informa Exhibitions for a record-shattering 90.3 percent waste diversion rate at the 2016 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo.

“Los Angeles is leading the way in sustainability,” says Kate Hurst, vice president of community advancement, conference and events. “It was ranked as the fourth major city in the United States for LEED-certified projects in 2016 and is part of the 100 million square feet club, which made it an ideal location to host the 15th annual Greenbuild.”

The Metro Toronto Convention Centre announced that its South Building is undergoing a $23 million renovation and modification, which will include 10 new meeting rooms, offering an additional 13,000 square feet of event space. Tvsdesigns and IA Interior Architects will guide the renovation, projected to complete in early 2018.

Empire State development president, CEO and commissioner Howard Zemsky has announced the design team who will spearhead the $1.5 billion expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. After an extensive evaluation process, the panel has chosen LendLease Turner.

Earlier this month, The Professional Convention Management Association hosted their 2017 Convening Leaders Conference in Austin, Jan. 9–11.  

“We are thrilled to host convening leaders for the first time in Austin,” says Tom Noonan, president and CEO , Austin CVB. “Austin has become a premier destination for meeting, conventions and leisure business and we are confident that we will see return business from the PCMA attendees.”

The conference attracted about 4,500 attendees and is estimated to bring in around $11 million in economic return.