A Small Pond

Jillian Dauer -- Tradeshow Week, 3/7/2005

On the east side of the Gulf of Mexico, Tampa Bay has the appeal of sunny, balmy Florida, along with an environment in which to conduct business.

"It has beaches and theme parks, but they won't become a distraction," said Norwood Smith, vice president of sales for the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The city is certainly no Orlando or Las Vegas and, according to Smith, that's a good thing.

"In Tampa, groups aren't one among many, they're the big fish in our small pond," he said.

And that's how Chuck Potter, annual meeting and exhibition manager for the American Animal Hospital Assn., felt when his association held its annual meeting there last year.

"They were ready for us and eager to help," Potter said. "We were the big fish in the pond."

Potter said the association's board of directors chose Tampa because they wanted a warm-weather destination.

"Most of our members are in the Northeast and want to get away from the cold," he said.

He was also impressed with communication between the group and the Tampa CVB. Tampa Bay has an aggressive delegate awareness program that includes welcome signs at the airport, welcome ribbons worn by convention and hotel personnel, and hotel welcome desks set up for the group.

"It's an intimate experience," Smith said. "You end up taking over the city."

There are 4,000 hotel rooms within four miles of the Tampa Convention Center, including the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina and an Embassy Suites that is currently under construction.

Across the street from the convention center, the Marriott Waterside has 50,000 square feet of flexible space and 31 conference rooms, in addition to its 717 guest rooms.

The Embassy Suites will have 360 rooms and a 20-floor atrium, as well as a walkway that will connect it to the TCC. The hotel should be open for business later this month.

The 600,000 sq. ft. waterfront TCC offers 200,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space that can accommodate up to 1,000 10¡ä¡Á10¡ä booths, a 36,000 sq. ft. ballroom that can be divided into as many as four separate rooms, and 36 additional meeting rooms.

"People like to be reminded they're in Florida when they look out the window and see water," Smith said.

The city has determined there is enough demand to expand the convention center, but the project is still in the financing stages. Smith said the expansion would be at least 150,000 to 200,000 sq. ft., but would need to be done in concert with the construction of another hotel.

Potter said the American Animal Hospital Assn. Annual Meeting took up a 22,500 net sq. ft. showfloor with between 225 and 250 booths.

Even once the center expands, however, Tampa Bay still won't go after the larger shows. Instead, Smith said, he prefers to get even more vigorous about attracting small to medium-sized shows.

"I would love a bigger center, but I don't see it being bigger than a medium center," Smith said.

According to a study conducted last year, TCC had a 57-percent occupancy rate, and hosts 43 to 46 shows every year, averaging about 80,000 net sq. ft.

"Tampa is an excellent destination," said Ed Leonardo, director of meetings and expositions for the Assn. for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation. The AAMI 2005 Conference & Expo is scheduled to take place at the TCC May 14¨C17.