Venue Trends: Doing Double Duty

Peer into the convention center crystal ball and what you see won't surprise you: more and more space all the time. Nothing new, you say? You might be wrong.

What is new is the high-end quality of space in tomorrow's venue, the dual purposes it will serve and the extra revenue it will generate. The time is ripe for the mixed-use event center-slash-lecture theater.

In an effort to meet the needs of two different but compatible markets, conventions and entertainment, properties are seeing the benefits of upgrading or adding theater and event venues to their convention centers, and the more high-tech, the better.

For urban properties interested in building a venue that will suit corporate customers and attract the high-profit health care and technology shows, the latest in technological and theatrical amenities makes sense. This space can be tailored to maximize the educational session format, then be converted or modified to host public entertainment.

On the flip side, destination resort properties want event centers that can double as entertainment venues (for their weekend leisure guests) and general session theaters (for their weekday business meeting attendees). This especially makes sense for mega resorts and casinos, whose everything-under-one-roof model places a high priority on entertainment for its hotel and casino guests.

One example of an urban venue benefiting from this double-duty use of space is the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. Part of its expansion completed in December 2004 – the Wells Fargo Theater – is a state-of-the-art, 5,000-seat venue that has proved to be a smart investment.

According to Greg Lowry, director of sales and marketing, the theater is the busiest room in the building. Divisible into three sections, it's capable of holding two general sessions simultaneously and contains all the audiovisual and theatrical amenities of a full theater.

“Having a technologically advanced theater lends a whole new level of intimacy and professionalism for general sessions, as opposed to building (them) out in a concrete box exhibit hall,” he added. “Our mission is conventions, but entertainment is an important secondary market.”

Lowry explained that what has attracted meeting planners is not only the production capability of the space, but also cost savings. By having a ready-equipped theater rather than building one inside a convention hall, the “plug and play” component of Colorado's theater can save thousands in production costs. As a result, the property has seen a rise in corporate business, particularly in the pharmaceutical, automotive and telecommunications sectors.

At the same time, using the theater as a public entertainment venue between groups has created a “tremendous revenue stream,” Lowry added.

Donna Keeler, director of training for Hunter Douglas Alliance Programs, said, “It's hard to find a space that's designed like that where it's not a ballroom, and where every seat is a good seat.”

During the Intl. Alliance Conference, which Keeler organized at the Colorado CC last July, 4,000 attendees comfortably fit into the theater for general sessions. “Our attendees were thrilled with the experience,” she added.

Colorado isn't the only property whose architects were headed in this direction. The Minneapolis Convention Center included a lecture theater in its 2002 expansion, also with flexible seating and high-end audiovisual capabilities.

Older properties, such as the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, recognized that following the conference-by-day, entertainment-by-night model makes good business sense as well.

Tim Hemphill, executive director of sales and marketing at the Morial Center, said the idea is not to change the kind of space a venue offers, but to make full use of its potential. Hemphill added, “Having this (space) allows more flexibility to fill in the empty gaps between conventions.”

John Katz, a partner at consulting firm Convention Sports and Leisure, said lecture-style theaters represent the next wave in the meetings and convention industry, especially for markets with a strong corporate business base.

“Our research shows that these high-end lecture environments are (allowing) associations and corporations to upgrade the character of their meetings and seminars with the ability to create interactive learning experiences,” he added.

The built-in high-end technology is the key to success, Katz said. High-tech audiovisual in the contained environment of a theater can create a more focused learning experience for attendees, he added.

Some venues, Katz said, have the capability of broadcasting live demonstrations, such as medical procedures or new products, from across the globe and onto projector screens.

On the entertainment side, the state-of-the-art amenities are ideal for musical or theatrical performances. According to Michael Hughes, TSW associate publisher and director of research services, the theater-in-a-venue concept makes sense for a wide range of reasons.

“The mega trend we're seeing in the industry is the enhancement of meeting space and more focus on education and networking,” he said. “With the Internet and globalization, increased competition and economic uncertainty, business people need to stay informed and abreast of trends and education issues, and need to stay connected. Providing the space is a value (for properties).”

For more traditional resort-focused properties that use conventions and meetings as a supplement to its leisure business, it's the same idea, but for a different reason.

Casino resort properties under development, such as Echelon in Las Vegas and MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Connecticut, have added convention center-adjacent event and performing arts theaters to their property design with the intention of capitalizing on two markets and revenue streams.

According to Rob Stillwell, Echelon vice president of corporate communications, building the events center in close proximity to the convention facility was one component in a strategy to attract group business. Set to open in 2010, the property will have two state-of-the-art theaters, one seating 4,000 and another seating 1,500, the latter with flexible space that can adjust to fit 2,200 people.

Gus Tejeda, Echelon's vice president of sales, said the flexibility provided by these high-tech venues has already been of interest to potential groups seeking general session space outside of a typical ballroom environment. “Meeting planners are looking for unique and flexible environments,” he added.

Joan Esneault, vice president of resort sales at MGM Grand at Foxwoods, echoed Tejeda's sentiments. Set to open in May, the property will offer a 4,000-seat performing arts center for the same reason: to capitalize on resort attendance first, convention business second.

She said the trend toward the event center-lecture theater combination is an example of properties wanting to get away from the typical ballroom-style venue.

“(Groups are) looking to have a productive meeting but, at the end of the day, they want to entertain their people as well,” Esneault added.

Whether it's an urban or a resort property, Jan Freitag, vice president of Smith Travel Research, said flexibility is the name of the game.

“It's better to build open space that can be used for different purposes,” he added. “As technology and demand changes, we'll need spaces, but we don't need to make them more restrictive. Large lecture areas that can be divided make sense.”