Facility Update: Virginia Goes Venue Crazy
By Margo McCall -- Tradeshow Week, 5/23/2005
Virginia is for lovers, according to the state's long-running marketing campaign. But if local convention and visitors bureaus get their way, Virginia may soon be for tradeshows too.
With two new venues opening this year, organizers hoping to hold shows in this Mid-Atlantic state will now have seven facilities to choose from. The two newest kids on the coast are the Hampton Roads Convention Center, a nautical-themed facility with 108,000 square feet of exhibit space; and the Virginia Beach Convention Center, which will contribute 56,516 sq. ft. of exhibit space with its August first-phase opening, and another 100,000 sq. ft. with the full facility's early-2007 opening.
The Greater Richmond Convention Center, in the state's inland capital, underwent a $165 million expansion and renovation in early 2003. The updated center offers 178,432 sq. ft. of exhibit space, nearly triple that of its earlier incarnation, in addition to 50,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and a 30,000 sq. ft. ballroom.
Another venue in the state capital, the Richmond Raceway Complex, last year underwent a renovation that transformed its Old Dominion Building into a 36,000 sq. ft. exhibit hall. The raceway, which hosts a number of consumer shows, provides a total of 160,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space.
Virginians say the state, known for its beaches and colonial history, is only now catching up after decades of construction inactivity. "Many years ago, there was a study done, and it showed that we needed several convention centers. Nothing had been built for 25 years. Now the state of Virginia is getting more into the tradeshow business," said Pam Lingle, communications manager for the Virginia Beach Convention Center.
With the opening of Virginia Beach's $202.5 million center, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the older Virginia Beach Pavilion Convention Center will be torn down, eliminating its 60,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space. Virginia Beach is also building a $20 million performing arts center. And the six-block 19th Street Corridor area between the convention center and the beach is being spruced up with walkways, a transportation system, and residential and commercial developments.
Lingle said bookings are going well. Although the center has drawn national business, such as the American Bus Assn.'s 2008 annual meeting, the target market is state and regional events. "We are obviously going to have a much, much larger facility, so we will be able to accommodate larger tradeshows, conventions and meetings," she said.
The new center offers 22 on-grade loading docks, a 147 ft. tower and a 360 ft. video wall in the pre-function area.
In Hampton, only 30 miles away on Chesapeake Bay, the $90 million Hampton Roads Convention Center features a sail-like tensile structure, canals, outdoor exhibit space, a ballroom that seats 2,000 and 35 meeting rooms that accommodate 14,000 people.
"This really has opened up all sorts of possibilities for Virginia. We're considering the market in a new light," said Mary Fugere, director of media and community relations for the Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau. "We're able to bring associations and pieces of business to Hampton that have never given it a previous thought."
Some 2,800 people attended the April 28 celebration for the center, which officially opened May 1. The Virginia Golf Expo was the facility's first event. Hampton Roads has so far booked 74 different events with a total projected economic impact of $59 million. Among this year's events are the Hampton Roads Home Show and the Virginia Baptist Assn. meeting.
Although smaller, Hampton Roads has something its Virginia Beach counterpart doesn't: a 295-room Embassy Suites headquarters hotel, connected by a covered walkway. Both are adjacent to the older Hampton Coliseum, which offers 60,579 sq. ft. of exhibit space, and Power Plant of Hampton Roads, a district of restaurants, nightclubs and stores.
The two new venues compete for some business, but cooperation isn't out of the question. "It's really the first time we've been able to showcase the region to groups," said Fugere. "We've worked together to bring events that would use meeting space in one city and attractions in another. It's friendly competition."
Virginia's two convention center openings may put that state in the limelight for now, but construction cranes will also be going up soon in other Mid-Atlantic states. Baltimore's Planning Commission this month set the stage for a property tax district to fund a $305 million headquarters hotel adjacent to the Baltimore Convention Center.
"It will open us up to a whole new set of business," said Nancy Hinds, vice president of public affairs for the Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Assn. "Many meeting planners require a headquarters hotel before they're even interested in a city."
Hilton Hotels has agreed to operate the 752-room hotel, which will connect to the convention center via a second-story skywalk. The Baltimore City Council is scheduled to consider the project next month, Hinds said.
If all goes as planned, the hotel, which will reserve 600 of its rooms for conventions, could open in spring 2008. Whiting Turner had been selected as its builder, but Hinds said the project is being re-bid because construction costs have risen since the initial bid award.
The 2-year-old Washington (D.C.) Convention Center, home to five Tradeshow Week 200 shows in 2004, isn't resting on its laurels either. The center's governing board in January approved a plan to add 75,000 sq. ft. of meeting and ballroom space to the facility, as well as a 1,200-room headquarters hotel with 100,000 sq. ft. of meeting and ballroom space.
Officials are currently studying the feasibility of building the hotel adjacent to the convention center on a site on Ninth Street between Massachusetts Avenue and M Street. If that property doesn't work out, the site of the recently demolished old convention center, a block away, could be used.
Both Baltimore and Washington, D.C., could use the extra drawing power, since in 2008, the $565 million Gaylord Natl. Resort & Convention Center — 10 miles from Washington in Prince George's County, Md. — will add 1,500 hotel rooms and 400,000 sq. ft. of exhibition and meeting space to the Mid-Atlantic's competitive landscape.
| Facility | Location | Exhibit space (sq. ft.) |
| Washington Convention Center | Washington, D.C. | 725,000 |
| Baltimore Convention Center | Baltimore | 300,000 |
| Dulles Expo & Conference Center | Chantilly, Va. | 185,000 |
| Greater Richmond Convention Center | Richmond, Va. | 178,432 |
| Richmond Raceway Complex | Richmond, Va. | 160,000 |
| Virginia Beach Convention Center | Virginia Beach, Va. | 150,000 |
| Hampton Roads Convention Center | Hampton, Va. | 108,000 |
| Source: 2004 TSW Major Exhibit Hall Directory | ||
| Show | Show management | Show site | Size (net sq. ft.) |
| Ace Hardware Spring Convention & Exhibit | Ace Hardware | Washington Convention Center | 277,300 |
| Natural Products Expo East/Organic Products Expo-BioFach America | Penton Media | Washington Convention Center | 174,050 |
| FOSE | Post Newsweek Tech Media | Washington Convention Center | 169,700 |
| The Work Truck Show & Annual NTEA Convention | Natl. Truck Equipment Assn. | Baltimore Convention Center | 162,450 |
| North American Truck Show | North American Expositions | Baltimore Convention Center | 160,000 |
| NEXPO | Newspaper Assn. of America | Washington Convention Center | 134,150 |
| AAD Annual Meeting | American Academy of Dermatology | Washington Convention Center | 132,000 |
| Source: 2005 TSW 200 | |||
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